


Bloodlines: A Game of Embers

by ForceCommanderJoe (orphan_account)



Series: RWBY: Bloodlines [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Board Games, Character Study, Conventions, Dramedy, F/M, Gen, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-08-20 08:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20224753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ForceCommanderJoe
Summary: Come on down to Table CONQuest!Atlas' first attempt at showing some resemblance of integrating nerd culture into this Kingdom's society. We've got board games, casino games, possibly some video games on display because we need to appeal to all nerd bases and our aristocracy is pretty uptight about how we've been attempting to treat the middle class lately.Post-relationship angst with your old flame sold separately.





	1. Admission

**Author's Note:**

> Bienvenidos, damas y caballeros, a la primera incorporación a la que será mi primera serie de fanfiction de Alternate Universe. Soy el Comandante de la Fuerza Jose, y esta es mi historia de- -
> 
> Hey! Who turned on the Spanish translator? Hmph.
> 
> Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the first addition to what will be my first Alternate Universe fanfiction series. I am Force Commander Joe, and this is RWBY: Bloodlines.
> 
> This isn't anything major or epic despite the title of it. This is basically a future AU where the main stars are several ship kids that I have created setting the stage for a new generation of Huntsmen in Remnant. Now, the way that posting this will work is that these stories are based off of ideas I had and will be in no particular chronological order. However. There are going to be stories that connect to certain events in the timeline of things.
> 
> If y'all need any clarification for who's who and what they're about, I may write a separate post on here detailing the bios on each ship kid and new major character to show what they're like and how they tick. But I promise it won't be like Game of Thrones or what not starring a shit-load of characters.
> 
> With that being said, I hope you enjoy this new avenue I go down with writing fanfic. And I look forward to writing it as well.
> 
> Let's go!

**“The critics are always right. The only way you shut them up is by winning.” -Chuck Noll**

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you were to ask Teams RWBY and JNR a decade ago if they’d be willing to attend a board game convention in Atlas – You know. The kingdom that prides itself on its’ military might and wealthy elite? – they would have been _very_ skeptical. 

Doubly so even if it wasn’t for a cultural reckoning led by Weiss Schnee, now CEO of the Schnee Dust Company and veteran Huntress. It wasn’t easy. But if it weren’t for her dragging Atlas kicking and screaming into a new future then something as lowly as this wouldn’t be possible for the middle class, or her friends and fellow Hunters to begin with.

Ruby and Jaune had stepped through the entrance to Table CONQuest. Naturally being kids at heart, they both let their mouths fall agape at how many tables and booths there were.

Titles were being demonstrated and played like _Oligopoly, Fortresses & Firehawks, Backgammon, Boarbatusk Trap._ Surprisingly was the fact that casino games were on display like _Poker, Rummy, Blackjack, Canasta, Slots, Baccarat._

Primarily to promote the newfound casino scene in Atlas, once that Weiss took part in uplifting the bans that were stamped upon them. While gambling is inherently wrong, it would be a necessary evil in the Atlas economy after the upbringing that Weiss had helped lead into making it a more open kingdom to the rest of Remnant.

“My dad used to play F&F when he was at Haven. He’s working on setting up campaigns for his fellow vets. I need to get photos of this to him!” Jaune exclaimed.

“Sis!” Ruby pointed out to Yang. “Look at the video card machines on display! I think that’s a Model 5000 Card Clash in the back over by aisle three, and it doesn’t even feature house rules on the game!” She let out a squeal in the vein of ‘classic her’ in light of her recent research on casino gaming.

Blue and Silver Eyes were respectively awestruck at the idea of playing and checking out so many games during their trip. To which their friends had amusingly noticed how they were currently geeking out. Yang chuckled; Ren and Nora snickered, while Weiss shook her head with a smile.

Eight years had passed ever since Salem’s defeat. The Teams RWBYJNR were taking one of those vacations from their personal lives and giving some of their families’ space in order to find an avenue to catch up with one another among their jobs outside of brutalizing Grimm.

Families indeed. For Weiss, Nora and Blake had settled down with their respective husbands starting such families.

Weiss’ son, Dominick, named by Neptune after her grandfather and SDC founder, Nicholas, was seven. Blake and Sun’s daughter, Alexandria was also seven. The oldest, Ren and Nora’s son, Cha Hua had just turned eight, while their daughter Elsa was five.

A new era of peace after Vale’s rebuilding tended to do that to an occupation with a high mortality rate such as Huntsmen. The Cross-Continental Transit System was only recently finally rebuilt back to full signal strength. This gave RWBYJNR just the golden opportunity to hike up to Atlas and see what it was like going to a public display while staying in contact with their loved ones.

A display that wasn’t of proud military bravado with the kingdom looking at the others going: “Sup, _nerds?_ We’ve got a bigger defense budget than all of y’all and we have robots! We’ve got frigging robots, bruh! What? You’re still using axes, spears, swords? Ha! We’ve got GUNS. And robots. Lasers. And robots. Flying aircraft carriers. We also have an ugly poverty line statistic but mostly, we’ve got robots!”

Alright, so maybe it wasn’t THAT obnoxious by Atlas standards. But it still did get irritating for the populace of the other three Kingdoms back then to see them flaunting their Lien spending on fancy toys with super precise targeting suites. It had been almost 90 years after the Great War at this point, all the Grimm-Relic-Maiden-God-war nonsense notwithstanding. Remnant wasn’t looking for conflict at the time.

Weiss rolled her eyes at that memory.

Despite the more liberal environment of Atlas these days, some things didn’t really change all that much on some fronts for the frigid north.

With General Ironwood’s honorable discharge and retirement, sadly the new Headmaster at Atlas Academy and new Chief of Staff for the army wasn’t as subtle or dignified as James. But he still kept them in check in light of international relations.

===========================

_My little boy isn’t going an inch near a recruitment center._ She thought before snapping herself back to the present day, walking ahead of Ruby. Also putting aside the thought of Winter, now Director of Specialist Operations, scolding any officers in charge of enlistment.

“I’m sure it’s gonna be very exciting Ruby.” She told her bestie. “But since I’m paying for this trip and any purchases, let’s not spend it all. Okay?”

The red reaper only shrugged.

“You say that like it’s a habit of mine.” She shot back. “I’m 26, Weiss. Not 10.”

Ruby gave her friend the stink eye and a raised eyebrow as she walked up to the counter with other attendees around the entrance to the Hercules Convention Center, catching the attention of the ticket staff.

“Good morning, Mrs. Schnee.” One of them said with a smile.

“Good morning. I have tickets for seven.” She said. Gesturing to her friends then showing her Scroll to the employees which bore the tickets of their names and admission prices.

The employees nodded and entered their names into the guest registration, and promptly began printing out badges with their biometric signature thanks to a thumb print. Headshots from their Hunters' licenses along with their names in caps were shown next. The dual-axe symbol of Vale was not in their portrait backgrounds.

The badges were passed around and the employee continued: “Okay, ma’am. We’re all set. Everybody is washed up, clothed, awake and ready to go?”

“That’s right.” Weiss replied. “How late will the con be open?”

“We’re going for four days in this inaugural year. We’re open from 10:00-21:30.”

Weiss gave her thanks as they stepped inside the main hall, taking in the sights. Perhaps her demands for a more liberal Atlas went better than expected, for these were not some pompous old money aristocrats walking around like they owned the place.

There was still plenty of work to be done regarding how exactly the rest of the kingdom would lighten up, and she would let young middle-class people tell the oligarchs that their glory days are up.

That they need to get with the times. But they were here now, weren’t they?

The first stop was browsing the vendor kiosks. It was a little early to be buying anything, so for now they observed which would be a good game to take home with them.

“Renny, my love.” Nora spoke. “What do you think the kids would like?”

Lie Ren had put a finger up to his chin. His fingertip reached his lengthy thin mustache in thought.

Using his fatherly instincts, he thought within the span of a minute to see which would be best to teach their kiddos about management once they were old enough to start helping out around their locally-owned restaurant, The Fen Lotus. A mom-and-pop joint which features a fusion of Valean and Mistrali cuisines on the menu.

“Hmm…Well, Elsa seems the most interested in taking after me for food preparation.” Ren pondered.

The ginger nodded.

“Yeah, Charlie seems like he could be more akin to doing heavy lifting.” She replied. “Not that we wouldn’t have him help out around the cooking area. That’d just be silly.”

“Indeed. I don’t suppose that Cooking Papa would be up her alley?” Replied her hubby.

===========================

Meanwhile, Blake surveyed the competition stage along with Weiss. Quite frankly surprised that major league Poker was a thing for this convention. Her feline ears twitched with intrigue as she saw the stage being set up with the recording equipment for live coverage and everything.

“Honestly, there’s no other major circuit in Remnant for a game like this.” Weiss commented with a shrug. “So I don’t see why not.”

Blake looked to her friend and then back at the stage.

“Why, Mrs. Schnee.” Blake spoke in mock peril. “Are you implying that gambling will save your mighty Kingdom?”

“No. And it’s not gambling, it’s regulated betting on the house because they’re running a charity.” The snow queen shot back.

The women shot each other a critical look, but after seconds they both laughed among their sarcastic comments, recognizing the absurdity of the very idea.

“I don’t think we’re at the point where we get THAT sentimental up here.” Said Weiss with a laugh.

As the chess-themed veterans talked semantics, Ruby, Jaune and Yang checked the nearby food court for lunch later. To their surprise and annoyance, it was still under construction.

The sisters folded their arms at the fact that…

“They’re just now allowing a game convention, and yet they haven’t finished building one food court?” Ruby inquired with a raised finger.

“Brilliant prioritization, Atlas.” Yang snarked. “I guess they were too busy trying to adapt to this place not being a military staging area/refuge area from another Grimm incursion. Really hope the food stall vendors make some good Lien.” She hopefully added.

“My folks always said to support the local business. It wouldn’t hurt to do so with these guys, even if the smaller markets here are awfully competitive.” Jaune added.

“At least they smell fresh from the oven.” Said Yang. “Just gotta make them feel welcome at a big-shot center like this one.”

Ruby thought to herself briefly, wondering about her sister’s comment on local businesses in a space where corporations and chains overshadowed any chances of a big financial success.

She was right, though.

Atlas still had ways to go before anything resembling a more friendly and welcoming environment for the local chains in the more conservative and corporate-focused regions of the kingdom.

Weiss’ best efforts on being nothing like her father in crushing the small Dust chains be damned – Flynt Coal’s words resonated with her quite a bit seeing the sights during their trip to Atlas in the Salem Crisis – there was still work to be done, consoling with the heads of state who were siding with her once that idiot, Jacques, was out of the picture.

Hell, not even the world nearly ending during their battle with Remnant’s wicked witch was enough to try and loosen things up. So for better or for worse, change was coming slowly to Solitas. Just not at the pace that the more liberal elites were hoping for.

General Ironwood was willing to give the nobility who were on Weiss’ side during the aftermath and her rise to CEO the benefit of the doubt. And still it was not enough.

But that hadn’t stopped her, or her friends before.

“A Huntsman’s paycheck would probably help them a lot.” Ruby suggested with a smile.

Jaune nodded. Saphron, with her economics degree, would be impressed with Ruby’s frugality.

“Yeah. I’m up for a bit of ambassadorial duties on Vale’s behalf with giving these merchants a good sale.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of a good sale, elsewhere at the entrance to Table CONQuest; a young businessman in a padded suit, no older than 23 stepped through the doors with his hands in his pockets.

His eyes darted up from the floor to his sides as he saw the displays at the convention.

_Wow. Nothing compares to this at home._

No comparison, indeed. For he walked down to the main hall, but not before adjusting his tie and drawing his Scroll to double check and to ensure that his ticket admission was paid for.

This guy was here for fun. He needed a vacation from his business duties in an attempt to put himself out there. He wasn’t worried as his digital wallet was fat and he was a sharply dressed 20-something with a penchant for mergers and equal opportunity between his affiliates.

The yuppie walked up to the ticket table and greeted the staff.

“Hi there, welcome to Table CONQuest. Do you have a ticket?”

He nodded.

“That I do, miss.” He said with a boyish, country-like charm to him as he brought up the tab to his Scroll screen.

“Good to know. Can I get your name?” She asked as she brought out a biometric bracelet to input his identity.

He cleared his throat and introduced himself, remembering to stand up straight and looking her in the eye when talking to a lady as he was taught on the farm by his Aunt in Southwest Anima.

“The name’s Oscar Pine.”


	2. Player 8 Has Connected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar is reminded of a past venture. While RWBYJNR gets ready for a brand new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, folks. Was waiting on my proofreader, Lost-One-60 while he and I were tending to IRL matters. 
> 
> With that being said, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

Day 1 of their convention trip was easy enough.

They got to survey the con floor, watch demonstrations of new titles from developers, picked up some games for home, and got to observe the new competitive 6th Edition for _Fortresses & Firehawks._

Ruby got the opportunity to endorse for the developers behind _Kung Fu Ninja Ultimate Death Battle_, and the just-as-popular spin-off series, _Pinnacle Karate Knights_.

Naturally, being honored to film advertisements with a Hero of Beacon, _Slipstream Software_ knew they were going to sell PKK 5 like hot cakes. However, Ruby and the devs were way too humble to let one another take all the credit.

If there was one thing that Remnant’s Reaper learned over time, it was humility. Gone were the times she would've, say, boasted about the desire to snipe a Goliath halfway across Mountain Glenn. 

The one thing she would not encourage on the days she would teach at Beacon, Signal, Pharos, or other combat schools outside of Beacon in Vale would be the aspect of glory in a Hunter’s life and share of the task. Glory is important but it means nothing if no one else can witness it, thus she encouraged a more modest approach. That didn’t mean avoiding it or letting the more boastful types not boast.

There was already a high death rate among Huntsmen and Huntresses. Even with the intelligence of Grimm devolving to a more feral, less organized level once there was no central mind to command them, there was still a massive risk in the job.

Much like past generations, they knew what they signed up for and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ruby often pondered about Ozpin’s words on back on the Beacon Cliff when they finally slayed the witch.

How her classmates all trained to become warriors for years, the evaluation in the Emerald Forest, how they were gonna be assigned teammates right away upon starting initiation, the eye contact that would assign partners.

Ruby had her issues with Ozpin near the end of the conflict but knew that his grayer actions were a necessary evil.

It didn’t jell with her standards within her own actions. What with actions like taking on Cordovan in Argus just to fly to Atlas, lying to Ironwood at first about the Relic of Knowledge, she knew the risks.

She knew that it would be brought up in conversation, and that she would have to be vague or keep her mouth shut about the details of all those other bad guys who couldn’t be dealt with peacefully.

There was no glory, no honor in the proxy war they all fought in. The irony wasn’t lost on any of them how for all the mythical reputation Hunters tended to get, they had to commit morally gray acts for the safety of mankind. Such was the nature of war.

But that was in the past. They were here now, and able to just have some fun.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oscar was awakened by the sound of the phone ringing in his hotel room. 

He jolted awake from another nightmare involving what would have been his assimilation within Ozma’s soul as he looked around, patting himself and saw he was still here in the present.

The holographic calendar on the desk where his laptop sat read: March 15th, 89 AGW (After the Great War). He didn’t read the time but as he lied down, face first into his pillow he picked up the line.

“Hello?” He spoke, bleary-eyed and growly from the lack of caffeine 

**“Good morning, Mr. Pine. This is the front desk giving you your wake-up call.”**

“Already? What time is it?” He asked as he sat up, ignoring the cold sweat that ran down his body from his bad dream.

**“It’s 6:15 AM, sir.”**

He stood up fully this time, stretching and looking at his clock.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, sir. Have a lovely day.”

===========================

Well, regardless of the recurring nightmares, Oscar was planning to have a fun time here, and by the Gods that was what he came here for to begin with.

Ever since he returned home to his Auntie Em, who had been suffering some time, he was glad to hear that she got help from nearby farms by forming an agricultural conglomerate through hard work via other farmers in her nephew’s absence.

This was topped off by the fact that the Pine family farms had become one of the most successful in the southwest. One of the wealthiest in fact, despite the insistence that there was no major success story to be written by the press.

Em was, well, a bit slow to adapt to new ideas. Many of the other farms were resorting to advanced hydroponics and irrigation, automated planters and even...Genetically Modified Organisms.

That last idea made Oscar shudder at as he was getting ready for a shave and a shower to start the day.

It took a lot of convincing, but Em eventually gave in and accepted the idea of a mostly automated farm. Much of the agricultural committee in her region of Anima provided the Lien in order for her to upgrade the old farm that she inherited from Oscar’s parents.

But who was to run the place? Who was to become CEO of Southwest Farms Incorporated?

_This guy._ Oscar echoed as he rinsed his hair out under the shower, remembering the talk with his aunt and the other agriculture magnates on his 17th birthday.

At first, Em thought he was joking given how he was originally just a farmhand.

But the other suits ended up agreeing with that idea and decided to appoint him to CEO in a 5-4 vote, the only one saying no being a disgruntled wind farmer who invested in propane sales.

The votes saying "yes", including Em said that his frugality and his ability to set folks at ease, appealing to young investors and entrepreneurs looking to make some big Lien at no extra charge was a big help when compared to the old folks thus setting up great partners for SFI. But that somehow didn’t make up for how lonely at the top he felt some days.

===========================

Oh yeah. Then there were the night terrors.

Let’s just say that Auntie Em nearly fainted upon seeing Oscar show up to the door after navigating through the grain paddies among farmers who hadn’t recognized him asking if he had been lost.

Upon seeing his aunt faint, Oscar may have nearly broke down himself almost literally scaring her to death. Then again, every single member in Ozpin’s faction during the conflict was appropriately rattled as the reality of war settled in.

For all the manhandling he was being subjected to, this was child’s play for the young man in question. As he recalled narrowly avoiding being crushed (Hazel), impaled (Tyrian), gunned down (Watts’ hacking on AK-130s and 200s), burned alive (Cinder), by each of Salem’s lieutenants.

But helping finish her off from the combined powers of the four Relics with a few rapid jabs from the old man’s cane before Team RWBY dealt the killing blow- -

Oh, crap.

He just remembered the morning she left. He didn’t fault her for it. Her goodbye note gave him reassurance that it was nothing personal and that she wished him the best.

The last part still hurt deeply as he had been in love with her since they met all those years ago. Their respective jobs in the recent wake of peace at the time hadn’t given them much leeway to settle down. Oscar with the farm...

_Stop._ Oscar told himself in the mirror, squeezing his misty eyes shut when he got to graduation. _It’s not your fault. You both did what you had to do._

He sighed, taking another set of deep breaths to calm himself in light of that memory coming up.

He only reminded himself to keep moving forward and resumed getting dressed before sunset, which was an odd sight to be seen in Atlas given how cold it was. How the sun never rose until much later in the morning hours, which led to many citizens sleeping in.

Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn’t adjusted to Atlas Mean Time rather than MCT, Mistral Common Time. His farmer instincts just led him to be an early riser, even in a different time zone way the hell up north. His top priority for breakfast was to try Atlesian coffee.

If the descriptions were true, it would have tasted piping hot enough to be considered a chemical hazard in the snow.

Naturally being a businessman and farmer, Oscar was not unfamiliar with coffee and also enjoyed a fine serving of bacon and eggs with a biscuit. On some days, sausage pancakes with a side of grits. Although, his affinity to hot cocoa thanks to Ozpin's presence overtook that.

_I guess I’ll have to put up with Atlas cuisine again._

The food in Atlas was by no means bad (it was stupidly expensive though), but it wasn’t as plentiful as the stuff you’d find in Vale or Mistral or the mix-and-match style in Vacuo. Though that was largely due given the scarcity of resources in the desert.

Oscar couldn’t complain too much, given how readily available the cuts they would get out in the wilds were on their way to Shade. But he wasn’t really a fan of seafood.

Mole crab wasn’t bad if you cooked it right and didn’t have a downright insulting amount of sand in the limbs. After all, who didn’t enjoy it? The crunchy shell and juicy meat on the inside was a good time all 'round. He also learned how to make broth by using the shells so they could re-use said shells.

Not in Oscar’s case. Oh no. He could only eat so much crab loaf, crab rangoon – or whatever could represent it in Vacuo – crab burgers, crab cakes and crab omelets before rejecting crab for many years.

However, while they were on the road to keep the Summer Maiden’s identity hidden, her head down in order to retrieve the Relic of Destruction, there weren’t a lot of options for other meals.

_You’re here now and you’ve got the money. So no sense in complaining._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lie Ren and his beautiful wife, Nora Valkyrie were the last in the group to wake up and head down to the cafeteria to catch breakfast.

Perhaps it was due to running a restaurant and having two kids, but Ren tended to be a bit lethargic some mornings more so than he used to be. However, a quick good morning call to Elsa and Charlie really helped get him ready and raring to go.

Nora took the opportunity to tease him about it. On weekends they would play regular matches of “guess-how-long-it-will-take-for-daddy-to-wake-up,” especially on holidays.

They would keep regular score, and he’d join in some instances to show he was taking it in stride.

“Morning, lovebirds.” Yang spoke as they sat down with their respective meals.

“Mmm.” Ren grunted with a nod as he sat down his scrambled eggs, bagel and a side of cream cheese and bacon. So maybe he still wasn’t fully awake.

“Morning, guys.” Nora said. 

Keeping her usual morning energy on a leash, she sat down beside her husband with her breakfast which consisted of chicken and waffles, hash browns and a side of black tea. This really made a huge difference in her post-pregnancy metabolism when compared to the disastrous results if she drank caffeine. 

“Sleep well?” The N in her team’s name then asked.

“I suppose.” Weiss responded with a shrug. “It’s kind of weird that the manor is in walking distance of this convention.” she added.

“Why? You can go see Neptune and Nick any time throughout the day in between Con stuff.” Ruby pointed out as she swallowed a bite of her strawberry-banana crepes.

Weiss nodded, smiling at the mention of her son being named after her grandfather.

“Yeah, but to be fair, with the Diocles Convention Center being remodeled for business purposes in job fairs and Academy enlistment, I wasn’t told that Herc would be within range of where I live.” She continued as she began to eat her breakfast.

It wasn’t as extravagant as her friends since it consisted of toast, eggs and bratwurst. 

Blake simply shrugged back at her words.

“Everything is within walking distance of Kuo Kuana.” She said. “Menagerie isn’t exactly suitable terrain for going by car. So I don’t see the problem in it.” she further explained. 

“I’m not saying it’s a problem,” the swordswoman replied. “Just that Upper Atlas seems to be a bit smaller than I remember. The hoops we had to jump through to get the Creation Relic notwithstanding.” She whispered the last part so as not to be eavesdropped.

As their conversation proceeded while they ate their meals, they set off to prepare for Day 2 of Con festivities.

Afterwards, Oscar Pine, head honcho of Southwest Farms Incorporated, headed to the cafeteria area of the hotel with bacon and eggs. What do you know; Atlas did have it made like back home.

The cup of cocoa that he ingested needed a bit of cooling off, and when he finally took a sip he thanked Ozpin for granting his taste buds a great tolerance to the heat within the liquid confection.

===========================

As Oscar took another bite into his meal, his Scroll rang. He waited the 7-8 notes that were the standard ringtone for Scrolls. He picked up the device and saw his aunt’s portrait in the caller ID.

“**Call from: Em.**” The synthesized voice in his digitized assistant, which he nicknamed Toto, spoke.

“Answer.” He said after swallowing a bite of his biscuit. The call button in his headset pushed automatically upon his input command.

“Hi, Auntie Em.” He answered, yawning briefly.

**“Well, hello, Oscar.”** A deep, male voice sounded on the other line; this didn’t bode well for him. **“Em is getting dressed right now. Should I leave a message?”**

It was his aunt’s boyfriend, Chad Gould. He immediately face-palmed at the sight of one of his shit-eating smirks on the other line. To say their relation was peculiar would be an understatement.

Oscar and Chad got along for the most part. They respected each other without dragging any emotion into it, but the farm boy thought he had a bad sense of humor which often consisted of looking for new ways to rile Oscar up without Auntie Em knowing.

Chad wasn’t there to bully Oscar either. He knew fully well that his girlfriend would immediately throw him out and possibly force feed him his spleen, given her parental instincts passed on by Oscar’s folks before they vanished.

Details are murky and incomplete, but Em says that they nearly died in a tornado. Sadly, they landed in a Grimm-infested area and hadn’t been seen since. This led to a rivalry dynamic between any guy that she brought home after a date and her darling nephew. 

Chad and him on the other hand…

“Oh. Sorry. Should I call back later? I saw her number come up and assumed that she was dialing me.” Oscar quickly responded

The man laughed. His chuckle sounded somewhat like a sneer, which boomed at times in wide open areas. The young magnate could only flinch upon hearing it.

**“Nah! Nah, it was just a butt dial. Hey man, you enjoying Atlas?”** Asked Chad, curious about his buddy.

Oscar’s face was neutral.

“Eh. Little too cold up here. Didn’t think I would miss the hot days on the farm so soon.” He replied, getting flashbacks of the weather when he was younger.

On top of that, Chad was a bit of a jock, to put it lightly.

He wasn’t a complete Neanderthal, being a certified fitness instructor on several reality shows centered around weight loss and getting into shape as well as being a Gold medal athlete.

But he didn’t have the mindpower or awareness as the average Weller Prize winner for (insert field related to something that requires a lot of brain power here); though that could be said of the average person as well. Chad was definitely more blunt in his approach to life when compared to other people Oscar knew.

**“Oh, I hear you on that, brother.”** He said back before he could crack a remark about having another piece of farmer’s tan back home.

**“Chad! You better not be heckling my boy over the phone!”** Yelled Em from the bathroom.

Oscar found himself blushing, over the fact that how his aunt’s declaration over treating him like he was her own child in such a public manner. Especially when the phone in Anima was on speaker no less.

**“Hey, baby, I was just saying hello. No trouble here.”** Chad argued.

**“And that’s fine, but I want you to cut him some slack while he’s going all over the city. Got it?”** Em huffed.

**“Yes ma’am.”** He sulked; a bit saddened that his chance to tease Oscar had slipped through his fingers.

Auntie Em walked over and took the handset, turning off speaker mode as she spoke to her little CEO.

**“Hi, sweetie.”** Cooed Em, getting ready for another day on the farm.

“Hey, Auntie Em.” He bashfully replied, his face reddening harder. “How are things while I’m on vacation?” Oscar asked, still concerned for his aunt despite her rebuttals of being fine as an ox.  


This was more of an issue for Oscar as he left with minimal communication to begin his long journey to save Remnant.

Despite the feeling of loneliness at first, he did meet friends whom he would cherish till the end of times. There was one who held an even more special place in his heart... 

And her name was Ruby Rose.


	3. Power Word: Detect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes take the scenic route around downtown for a bit. Ruby is reminded of somebody, while her friends take notice.

You ever hear the phrase “the more things change, the more they stay the same?”

It was about the same for the areas around 1400 Gemütlichkeit Avenue: Home of the Schnee Clan and also the SDC headquarters, naturally.

Throughout Day 2, Teams RWBYJNR took the time to see the sights in between Con activities so as not to get cooped up. To get out on the town and get the blood flowing a little bit, to the best of their ability anyways.

What with the many and thick layers of winter clothing they had to wear, one would think they would be Ruby’s latest crazy idea for clothing that was both elegant and combat oriented.

It wasn’t intended for combat skirts to be in style ever since their hero’s welcome back to Beacon, but it worked to this day.

Two of the married women in the group – Weiss and Blake – could have felt warmer with their respective husbands to snuggle up with on the walk with their friends.

However, Neptune was busy tending to his own arms manufacturer: Jupiter Armaments. As well as being in charge until Weiss came back.

Meanwhile in Menagerie, Sun was working on being a stay-at-home dad and hiring more staff for Bestiary Academy.

It was the newest combat school in many years which was surprisingly stable in the odd topography within the makeshift Faunus capital of Remnant.

Ren and Nora couldn’t complain. Because they were right where they wanted to be: hand-in-hand, head on shoulder in the snowy streets of downtown Midgard.

The main urban center for Atlas, where the Schnees lived and prospered…It also happened to be the most popular district for the rest of the elites.

===========================

“It’s a good thing I didn’t bring my breastplate.” Jaune commented.

“What do you mean?” Yang inquired.

“Well, one time when I came here on business for student transfers, our Bullhead’s fuel froze in the snow field after we landed for maintenance, and it was raining. It got so cold that I had a vest-shaped burn mark on my chest for a solid month from my armor.”

“Ouch!” Nora said in the back. Ren also wincing at the image of the scar tissue that Jaune was at the mercy of during their last battle with Cinder. Where her flame blasts nearly burned away his Aura permanently. 

He was subject to Aura transfer surgery thanks to the Winter Maiden and her willingness to sacrifice her Aura after the Atlas Relic was retrieved.

“Yeah. It wasn’t fun. But nothing a little aloe vera helped.” Jaune remembered, shivering at the memory.

“Jaune. I’m not certain that was all you used to treat that.” Ren bluntly observed.

“’Course not. But I pulled through, same as always.” He continued as the group continued their merry way through the city.

“Arc luck?” Asked Ruby.

“Arc luck.” He answered. “You should see one of my sisters, Parsley. She’s an extreme sports star and has a black belt in mixed fighting. She’s, uh, kind of a daredevil.” He continued.

“Yeah. We heard a lot about her back in Vale last year.” Said Nora. “The kids were asking if they had another auntie who was a good sister to uncle Jaune.”

Jaune smirked, his face flushing at such a saccharine comment by somebody so young, so uncomplicated in recognizing a cool grown-up when they saw one.

===========================

The only offspring of one of his sisters he was in close contact with was Saphron and Terra’s boy Adrian.He has yet to meet Aurelia, Clementine, Mellyn, Xanthias or Flavian.

With Jaune being a Grimm-slaying badass including side jobs of being a combat trainer, weapon smith, substitute teacher, TA, Huntsmen competition judge/coach, he didn’t have much time to see his folks these days.

In other words, he was swamped with work.

Fortunately, he got to hang out with his Huntsmen brothers and sisters. Not out of ignoring his family, but to get out of the office and strengthen the bond with his friends.

Jaune certainly missed his folks while he was at work, but he would always call his parents, Oliver and Daisy Arc, each week to let them know what was up.

This made Ruby think of a similar situation with her dad, Taiyang.

It was as simple as sending regular texts and emails and of course, the obligatory phone call to Patch.

Qrow was another one that she stayed in contact with in light of his retirement from his Hunter duties and sobering up.

He was ready to die if it meant getting his nieces and their friends out alive. But it seemed his own misfortune turned against him for the right reasons for once, and he grew tired from all the fighting, looking to settle down instead.

Hence his new home life in Patch with Zwei and his best friend, Tai. He resumed his duties as a teacher at Signal, no longer hitting the bottle. Now freshly dressed and combed down while maintaining his ruggedly handsome looks. Winter had been trying to catch his eye since this change.

===========================

Ozpin, for all his differences with Qrow would’ve- -

Ruby paused as they sat down to stop by a food truck, remembering the O-word. Actually make that two O-words for her.

She never forgot how Ozpin did his best for them but acknowledging his mistakes from the moment they became aware of what kind of fight he was in for. She wasn’t happy with all the lies but forgave him with what he had been through in the whole thing.

She hoped that he finally found peace, wherever he was and hoped that _he_ was doing A-OK.

Ruby gasped, quickly covering her mouth to compose herself about the one night after graduation day.

They were young and full of hopes and dreams in a post-war Remnant; spunky and looking for a new avenue of discovering life.

_Drop it, Ruby._ She told herself, breathing in and out repeatedly. _Nobody got hurt. You’re both fine. It’s time to move on._

The reaper’s breath was visible from her sight in the mid-March winds. If she was actually crying, her tears would have been easily concealed by the snow.

But she kept it together for her buds. It’s not like he was around the corner at the Con, right?

Right?

“Ruby? Hey, Rubes.” A mysterious voice called out, catching her attention.

“Hmm, what?!” she responded, uncertain of what was going on.

Ruby turned around, completely forgetting that she had drawn her hood up during her moment of contemplation.

Shimmering eyes of silver met aqua. Nora held up a cup of unsweetened tea in one hand from the food truck’s freestyle drink fountain and a steaming slice of veggie pizza that she and Ren ordered in the other.

Ruby cleared her throat and bashfully lowered her hood.

“Can I help you, Nora?” Queried the Reaper.

“You were doing your thing where you drew your hood up and were deeply thinking about someone you lost with rose petals flying in the wind followed by a slow walk back to where you were previously standing with some determination to carry on.” Her ginger friend rapidly pointed out.

She looked to the side to see that there was, in fact, a small trail of rose petals that were normally left when she activated her Semblance on the sidewalk. Several flying off in the air as a car drove by.

How did she…

“Nora. That’s oddly specific.” Replied Ruby, impressed and freaked out on the perception of her friend

“Kind of a thing I do.” She said normally. “Though, are you okay? You haven’t even eaten yet.” She added, her mother hen nature kicking in.

“I’m fine.” She said, turning back to see the snow and whatever other petals were eligible to be flying off into the urban jungle. 

“I’m just admiring the sights. Hasn’t snowed this much in Patch lately, you know? You were right. I better get some food.” She responded, hoping to deflect from the truth.

Ruby walked over to the truck, apologizing for the delay and ordered a BLT sandwich with provolone, no mayo and, you guessed it, a chocolate chip cookie along with a side of coffee. Sweetened like her big heart.

“Hmm…” Contemplated Nora, clearly not buying it.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neither was Blake, as Nora had explained when they got back to their hotel after that hike.

Which Blake pinched the bridge of her nose at, reading glasses taken off to highlight her equal parts annoyance and concern with the grenadier’s observation about Ruby’s sudden moodiness that afternoon.

“So…You think that Ruby is having flashbacks to Ozpin?” Asked the Faunus, an irritable expression written on her face.

“Probably not that, but…” answered Nora.

From one Huntress to another, the way Nora’s eyes shifted gave a pretty good idea who it really was from eight years ago.

Blake’s cat ears folded in sadness at the idea of her team leader having that topic be brought up again.

“Okay, but why not talk to Yang about it? She’s her sister, after all.” continued the brunette.

“I mean, knowing how Yang gets around guys that try to hit on Ruby despite how much she can handle it, that’s what I’m worried about. Not to mention Ozpin because, yeah.” Whispered the ginger, trying to keep the topic quiet.

“Which is why you want me to talk with Ruby.” continued Blake.

Nora nodded. But Blake shook her head side to side.

“No, Nora. I won’t.” she responded.

“What?! Why?!” she complained.

The feline sighed before continuing under her breath.

“I’m just worried that she’ll have a breakdown if I bring that topic up. I think it would really rub her the wrong way if she’s reminded of it from someone other than Yang.” she explained.

“A relative would be the best person to talk to about it. Taiyang and Qrow are in Patch, Raven is in jail. That is, I think that Yang should bring this up. I’m sorry, Nora, but I’m not really the one you should be asking.” she finished her long-winded explanation.

The hammer queen grumbled, not content to let this slide.

“But Blake you could- -! She could- -She trusts you and, if you- -Grrrr!”

“Okay, fine! I’ll think about it!” retorted Blake, giving in knowing that Nora would only continue to pester her.

Before they said anything else, they looked outside of Blake’s bedroom door in their penthouse they rented for five days of the week to see if anybody noticed their loud whispers.

Ruby, Gods forbid, would have flipped if she knew they were discussing it secretly.

Fortunately, she simply walked by, instead sweeping the floor and wearing her headphones listening to the latest remix of _This Will Be The Day_ on her Scroll.

She raised one cup of the headphones to see if she heard something but shrugged and went back to sweeping and collecting trash left around the penthouse.

Blake and Nora exhaled a sigh of relief then resumed their quiet chat.

“Listen, it’s getting dark. I need to go make a good night call to home. Mind if I go out for some air?” asked Blake, not willing to risk a slip up with Ruby nearby.

The ginger nodded fervently.

“Yeah, sure. We’ll discuss this later. And I’ll shoulder the blame for it.” said Nora.

“Deal.” She replied with a quick handshake then grabbing her coat, along with putting on her plastic headband to conceal her ears to the locals.

Blake winced at the feeling of the headband concealing them, clearly not as soft or stretchy as her old bow, but it would have to do.

“Yo, Blakey.” said a new voice.

She heard Yang from behind, smiling with her robotic hand on her hip.

“Goin’ somewhere?” asked the Brawler.

“Uh, yeah. I need to get some air and give a good night call to Sun and Alex.” responded the Faunus.

Yang nodded. Buying into how she really did need air from the truth bomb that Nora just dropped on her.

“I hear ya. Go say goodnight to your hubby but come back soon, ‘kay? We’re gonna be playing Dance Dance Insurrection.” said Yang. “Just be sure to have your shadowboxing dance moves ready if you’re not too late.” she added, clearly wanting to have a good challenge tonight.

Blake winked at her friend in agreement as she headed out the door, drawing her Scroll and calling the Belladonna estate on her way into the elevator.

===========================

There was no main CCT hub in Menagerie, but the luck of being close to one all the way at the ass-end of South Anima helped matters. Along with Mistrali Navy ships that sailed by the ports to maintain signal strength.

After a minute of dialing, the house within the Belladonna home in Kuo Kuana got a phone call from the new matriarch.

A young Faunus girl with ears and a black tail looked up from her drawings and eagerly ran to the phone, nearly tripping but picking it up. She was getting really big for a little one her age.

She took the receiver and spoke as clearly as possible.

“Belladonna residence. Alexandria speaking.” She eagerly spoke, which brought a smile to Blake’s face.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Blake cooed, so proud of her baby girl.

“Mommy!” she yelled excitedly, jumping for joy to hear her mom on the landline.

“Hey. I was just calling to check in, see how you guys are doing over there.” She spoke her tone showing concern for her baby and husband.

“We’re doing good. I was just working on another drawing.” Proudly exclaimed Alex. 

“Really? What were you working on?” Asked Blake, curious to see what she was up to.

Alex took the wireless receiver and took the current work-in-progress into her little hand.

“It’s a galley. Grandma and grandpa have been taking me to the beach after school to show me what ships are like. I wanna sail the ocean someday.” She stated with her head held high and chest puffed out with pride.

Blake chuckled at her daughter’s enthusiasm.

“Oh yeah. You always seemed to be less fussy on a ship when you were born.” Blake pointed out, remembering the days of when her kid was younger.

“Yep!” Alex replied. “I wanna go sailing when I become a Huntress!” she exclaimed with renewed enthusiasm.

The ninja paused.

“Wait, you’re interested in becoming a Huntress some day?” Blake asked, happy and concerned about this choice.

To which the girl put a hand up to her chin, which said gesture would have melted Sun’s heart were he awake.

“Well, with the stories that you and daddy have been telling me about your adventures, I’m starting to reconsider my choice not to be one. But I haven’t decided yet.” She answered, showing some hesitance at this decision.

“We’re not forcing you into it, Alex.” She said as she stood leaned against the wall of the elevator.

“I know.” She replied, nodding. “I’m still thinking about it, after all. So we’ll see, like you tend to say, right?” She added, acting just her mother.

Blake chuckled again.

“Good answer, honey. Hey, is daddy awake?” Asked the ninja.

“No. He’s sleeping right now. When he came home, he was pretty sleepy from going on a ‘low night’.” she said with quotations. “I think he’s been working a bit too hard.” The girl added, showing concern for her dad.

She wasn’t wrong, though. Sun had been working himself to the bone to make sure that Bestiary was properly staffed.

She would have to go to dinner with him to repay him for all of his hard work in properly integrating Menagerie in modern Remnant.

“Mom? You still there?” Asked the daughter.

Blake shook her head back into focus.

“Yeah, I’m here. I was just thinking about how to repay your father. He’s been working so much, you know?”

“Yeah.” Alex said sadly. “But Aunty Ilia is here instead if you wanna talk. Grandma and grandpa are asleep, too. So I think I’ll finish sketching this drawing and go to bed.” She said.

The youngling set the receiver to her side as she called for her chameleon godmother to come to the phone, but before handing it to her she wished her mother a good night.

“Here she is, mom. Gotta go. I love you!” Alex said with glee before handing over the Scroll.

“Love you too, Alex. Bye.” She said with a kiss into the receiver as Ilia took the phone and spoke in her goddaughter’s place while she went to her room to finish her sketch of the galley.

“What’s up, Blake?” asked her long-time friend and fellow Huntress, Ilia Amitola.

“Hey. Just calling to say good night to my baby. How’s Sun doing?” inquired Blake as the two began to discuss about the present and fond past memories.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the assassin finished her call, she stepped off the elevator, taking a moment to notice the windows which showcased the Atlesian streets.

In the view of the lobby windows was a beautiful sunset which made the lakes twinkle at this time of day. Blake took time to admire and smile at this.

_I’ll be damned. So there is beauty to be found in this frozen money pit._

It’s not that she forgot about the less-than-attractive sights in Atlas. Just that there wasn’t much time to get a look at them last time she was here and even less time with most patrons busy checking out the Con.

The lobby was unusually quiet and empty, save for a young couple and/or small family passing through. Maybe a vlogger for streaming sites highlighting events and celebrity meet-ups or just recording panels and tutorials on how to play _Maidens: The Reckoning_ with the designers behind them and getting to know how much their title has had an impact on folks’ lives.

After taking in the scenery, Blake was about to head outside for another walk when she heard something drop.

Based on her sensitive hearing, it sounded like a portable object. Her cat ears tweaked to track the source of the drop and what exactly it was.

Blake walked over to a couch area and seeing a man wearing a ballcap looking in the distance, staring off into space for some reason, which really unnerved her. 

He didn’t turn around, or even flinch at the sound of her thigh-high heels clicking across the marble floor to get to where he sat.

“Sir?” she asked, nervous yet poised to defend herself should things go south.

No response. Blake looked to see what dropped in his vicinity when she picked up what was apparently tossed behind him.

It was a carbon fiber wallet with an RFID tracking chip, storing a stack of Lien and perhaps some cards with personal information that she didn’t dare to get a peek at out of courtesy. Basically, this wallet was worth a hefty sum of Lien.

She tapped the man’s shoulder.

“Excuse me. You dropped your wallet.” she asked again, getting more worried with the lack of response. 

But again, he didn’t move.

“Sir.” she asked again, now becoming annoyed at the lack of response.

Nope.

Sighing, Blake set down the wallet in the seat next to him. She had to get his attention somehow since he was...Shell-shocked?

Even with her Faunus instincts in sensing body language and scent, Blake couldn’t get a read on this guy. He just continued to stare.

“Sir, I found your wallet behind to the sofa. Is this yours?” she asked, hoping for a response.

The man tilted his head slightly as he recognized that the green carbon fiber case belonged to him and nodded his thanks.

“Yes. Thank you.” He spoke.

Her instincts told her that something was clearly up. If he was in danger, she could have easily gotten him to a safe zone.

If he was traumatized about something she would have given him some space. But he’s not making eye contact, not moving except for grabbing his wallet.

But something about him looked familiar.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, eyes briefly moving to evaluate the surroundings.

The cap man shook his head.

“Hey, I’m a Huntress. If you’re in trouble, I’ll keep you safe. Okay?” She stated, hoping to reassure this stranger.

That is until he sighed and lowered his head.

“I’m fine.” He stated. “And, I guess I owe you an explanation. Don’t I?” he continued.

Blake stood back, making sure the area was secure of any threats.

She noticed Con security giving a suspicious look to the cap man, raised eyebrow as if she needed assistance. But she held up a hand and shook her head as she casually approached him from behind.

“Is everything alright, miss?” Asked a helpful security guard, doing his job to ensure minimal fuss during public events.

She was then interrupted by a concierge who was just getting off of his day shift, a concerned look on his face.

“Thank you for the help, but I’ve got this.” She responded, thankful for the guard’s help.

The concierge nodded as he saw the man on the sofa before who insisted he go ahead and clock out.

Recognizing him for his business ventures in magazines and documentary specials on Channel 8 regarding how he took his field by storm.

“I figured you would find me here.” He said as he stood up.

“I will take my leave then and let you discuss this in private. Have a good night, Mr. Pine.”

Wait a second…

Blake squinted, but her eyes shifted from suspicion to shock as she saw the emblem on the back of his suit coat.

It was a pair of intertwined gears shifted counter and clockwise, just like the main office in Beacon tower.

Blake’s ears folded to the side to reflect how she felt listening to Nora’s words earlier. Her mouth agape not out of fear, but surprise.

“Oscar?!” she exclaimed, shocked to see her old friend. 

He turned around, revealing his rosy tanned face along with his golden-brown hazel eyes showing remorse.

It was further accentuated with a bittersweet smile as he took his cap off for a moment to scratch his hair as he spoke next, hand behind his head.

“Howdy, Blake.” he said, trying his best to not mess this reunion up.

“What are you doing here?!” she exclaimed with shock, still surprised to see the object of concern to her dear friend.

He put his ball cap back on, gesturing her to follow her to the bridge at Lake Sanctity.

“I could ask you the same thing. Come on.” he offered. “I owe y’all an explanation.” He added, cap in his hands as she followed.


	4. Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect 200 Lien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth regarding Ruby and Oscar's breakup comes to light after a day of paperwork and training some time ago. And it's not pretty.

Six years ago…

Once, on a trip to Beacon to prep for post-graduation curriculum work for future students, Team RWBY, Nora, Coco and Velvet, her wife, of Team CFVY fame decided to hit the simulations for a bit to let off some steam after a long dreary day of paperwork.

The best way they knew how to do so whenever they visited their Alma Matter? Sparring and hitting the range.

Yang and Velvet were busy in the ring. Nora wasn’t really a hand-to-hand kind of girl. After all, her weapon, Magnhild, was a rotary grenade launcher.

But the firing range wasn’t outfitted at the time for explosive discharges as it was currently going through reconstruction.

So instead, she hit the dead lifts.

===========================

Velvet and Yang dueled for a bit up close.

The brawler was thoroughly impressed with Velvet’s newfound speed and agility which she learned from Fox, Yatsu, and the guys at Team SSSN (sans Neptune).

Although the titanium alloy that formed Yang’s prosthetic arm was providing a hard counter with her Aura blocking techniques in tandem, the rabbit continued to outfox Yang by several dives and blows to the back. 

The blonde bomber was by no means getting slow. She was a lot more defensive than she used to be but still had trouble fighting opponents with kick-based combat styles.

So she hunkered down whenever the opportunity arose should she have faced someone like Mercury or Neo again.

Yang landed several jabs towards Velvet, knocking her back against the ropes of the boxing ring.

After jumping side-to-side constantly for a solid minute she managed to deliver a flurry of sharp chops on her shoulder, followed by a punch straight to Yang’s gut which knocked the wind out of her.

The bell rung before any more damage could be done, preserving their Auras as well. Both sparring partners looked up tensely, panting as the sweat trickled down their bodies.

“Right. Okay. I guess the arm has hardened up a bit last time we saw each other.” Said Velvet.

Yang shook her head and shrugged with her arms out.

“Nah.” She said in between pants, with her trademark grin for all to see. “Just happened to get this refurbished and repaired near the end of the crisis.” She added while taking the time to flex her left arm, 

Velvet knew that Coco would have latched onto said arm, dragging her into it.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at Beacon’s firing range, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Coco decided to eject some brass and brush up on their aim.

Coco, wielding her beloved minigun, Gianduja turned the target holograms into mincemeat. They were certainly cheaper than target dummies provided by the Atlesian Army.

Had Coco brought the tri-barrel for Gianduja with her, she probably would have gotten cocky and gunned down the rest of the holograms before the others could even reload.

Furthermore, it wouldn’t fit when she tried mounting it to the table in her usual booth on the range.

So she went with the standard six barrels instead, which were a little lighter, fired more slowly when the three barrels were usually vehicle mounted.

<>That made them easier to carry when Gianduja was in handbag mode.

Weiss was a surprising addition to the gun club back when she was on maternity leave with baby Dominick.

During said leave, she found an old family heirloom a year ago: A self-loading rifle wielded by her great uncle, Karl Jürgen Schnee.

This rifle had last been wielded during the interwar period before the SDC’s founding by Nicholas Schnee.

Naturally being interested in restoring such a family relic, Weiss met with Ruby and a few gunsmith friends of theirs to restore the weapon to its’ original glory.

It wasn’t very practical, given the early 50 round drum magazine design which was swapped out with a 20-round mag for lighter weight. Maintaining the cone shape all the while.

Historical Schnee clan documents revealed that Nicholas briefly served in the Mantle militia during his times in the Dust mines before the idea of a mining corporation came to light.

But Karl served longer due to his brother’s business ventures. And found this old thing, named Schneesoldat (snow soldier) as a joke by Karl for how they would become a military family someday, but the name eventually stuck like white on rice.

Early prototypes of Schneesoldat were a bolt-action feed. However, the thing jammed way too often, so it was converted to be semi-automatic instead.

This provided for a higher rate of fire that Weiss knew would help her in the field. Not bad for a fencing champion who relied on a revolver mechanism in her rapier originally.

Blake did some remodeling of her own on Gambol Shroud. Gone was the boxy frame, now replaced with a smaller slide and an exposed hammer on the end of said slide to make cocking the pistol mode easier for her.

Ever since Gambol was rebuilt in Atlas after the battle at Argus, Blake went back to the drawing board several times after the conflict to see what was wrong with her current design at the time.

How can it be retooled to fit her covert image? Did the ribbon need to be extended? How did she learn to treat any potential weapon jams on newer models? These questions boggled her until she decided to go back to her calling.

And so, Blake decided to cut the thing down to be more concealable rather than making herself a highly visible target when hit and run tactics were her specialty. 

Beacon’s teacher for Stealth and Security classes, Professor Greene (who also had Blake as one of her straight-A students) was the first to point it out, as well as insisting she ditch the white coat and go for a more inconspicuous approach.

Per Greene's advice, she went with a sleeveless, dark purple sweater vest instead of a tank blouse or another garish bright trench coat.

As for Gambol? The blade was trimmed down as well as being reforged into a straighter, stainless steel ninjatō sword which was more collapsible than the Mark I model of the weapon.

There was also the addition of a thinner, but just as large magazine to the current Mark III model. But the coolest feature that Blake was proud of was the addition of a 3-round burst fire mode to the weapon.

This helped a lot in close-combat shootouts where pulling the trigger non-stop wouldn’t cut it and would save pressure on it regardless of the higher ammo consumption.

Then again, .40 caliber ammunition is pretty common these days and it wasn’t like she didn’t have the Lien to spend it.

Ruby got another chance to show off her secondary which was turning her friends’ heads at just how unique it was. A prototype headed by Atlas gunsmiths made into pure awesomeness.

Thorn Bouquet or TB for short. A portable energy carbine used for medium-range engagements made by Neptune over at Jupiter Armaments.

Forged by Atlas Academy graduates and given to her by the Schnee-Vasilias family as a token of thanks for helping them escape an assassination attempt by anarchists who had a bone to pick with SDC.

TB could have its barrel retracted or extended depending on the situation at hand. One minute, it could be a short-barrel weapon could for clearing out corridors.

The next, it could be used for a distance to return fire to say, the nearest bandit foxhole. In both modes, the blaster could fire quickly in the former and slower in the latter for the sake of ammo conservation and maintaining accuracy and recoil at a distance.

Not that Atlas energy weapons had much recoil to begin with. But, given Neptune’s demand for attention to detail and his fixation with correcting the little things in his design, Ruby just had to humor him at Weiss’ insistence.

Each weapon brought the cacophony of gunfire to the range with their own scores for each Huntress with their respective shooting skills.

Let’s just say that Coco always topped her score in rounds per minute each time and leave it at that.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Huntresses had finished their post-paperwork training and had hit the showers, the locker room being occupied with girl talk afterwards.

But the last to get washed up and dressed was Ruby, currently sitting in a dry stall, just having put on her gray hoodie with a red center along with her jean shorts.

While her family dog, Zwei, was keeping her company once she got dressed she wasn’t exactly in the best of moods.

Even with her putting energy slugs downrange with Thorn Bouquet which brought catharsis every time she went to the range – not to mention Crescent Rose – she couldn’t put away the memory of what happened last year.

To think that it had been that long since she and him stayed the night. But that she left so quickly not out of spite, nor shame.

Embarrassment.

That didn’t haunt her; necessarily but really put a wrench in their plans for a relationship at the time. 

It made Ruby stare at the ceiling with uncertainty, Zwei cuddled in her arms as he sadly looked up at his Human.

It was hard to believe think that the dog would be a good source of therapy what with him being unable to understand Remnant Basic.

That any other dog could listen to their master’s concerns, hearing gibberish apart from sounds they recognized over time.

“I’m still not sure how to explain it, Zwei.” She told the corgi anyway. “Been a year and it looks like they’ve forgotten. Or have they?”

“Ruff!” he barked.

Well, Zwei could listen to her at any rate, being smarter than the average corgi. But in between his barks and whimpers, he continued to follow.

“I mean, it was fun.” Ruby complained. “But was it supposed to last after that? How seriously was he even taking the idea of me and him together?”

The pup whimpered at how hard she was being upon herself, rubbing his head against her chest and giving her a kiss with several licks from his tongue.

His wet nose provided some cool feeling amidst her tension. Ruby giggled at how much of a softy he was as she sat him down.

“Zwei! Hey! Okay, okay, I get it.” Ruby said with a hint of humor.

As she wiped off the doggy saliva, Zwei panted looking her in the eye with a message through body language that, while happy, was clear as day on what she should let them in on.

**Tell the truth, Master.** He suggested through his pose.

Ruby nodded. Getting up, opening the stall curtain and walking over to her friends. The girl talk being set aside as they noticed her head hanging towards the tile floor.  


“You okay?” Coco asked, noticing her fellow team leader looking down.

Ruby took a downtrodden deep breath, composing herself, to let them in on the real truth about what went down a year ago that night after graduation.

She opened her eyes, revealing a great symbol of sadness in a pair of eyes that was meant to protect life.

“Girls. There’s something you should know.”

“What’s up?” Nora asked after exchanging an anxious look with Yang.

“I…A year ago, Oscar didn’t break up with me. I broke up with him.” began Ruby, tears threatening to spill.

Words of confusion were exchanged. It’s a good thing Weiss had quickly left to the SDC offices in Vale, because her reaction would have been pretty ugly. Nora on the other hand…

“WHAT?!?” She shrieked, floored at this revelation.

“It was shortly after our graduation party.” continued Ruby, trying her best to hold back the tears.

“WHAT?!?” Nora shrieked again, hands grasping her shoulder-length mane.

“Ruby, what are you saying?” Blake asked after wincing from Nora’s screaming, picking at one of her cat ears, showing discomfort at the volume the ginger produced.

And there it was. The straw that broke the camel Grimm’s back, which Ruby lost it at.

“We made love. And then I…Left.” she said, shoulder shaking softly as her sobs became visible to everyone.

The other women gasped. Yang, who normally would have gone ballistic upon hearing how her sister was hurt, remained silent.

And then there’s Nora.

“**WHA**\- -Mmph!” Nora attempted to say before Coco covered her mouth, glaring daggers at how inappropriate the third time was and giving the bombastic girl a raised eyebrow of disapproval.

You could cut the tension with a knife.

Ruby attempted to compose herself, but the lump in her throat caught up with her as she broke down sobbing once she sat on the locker room bench, her face in her hands.

Coco, Velvet, Nora and Blake stepped forward to comfort their tearful friend. Zwei sat by his master and uttered a howl of sadness.

Yang continued to stand in shock at the revelation of what really transpired the night after they received their Hunters’ license.

_Oh, sis. What the hell happened?_ thought Yang, angry to see her baby sister sad and disappointed in her as well as it reminded her of her own mother, Raven.

Ruby continued to cry as Coco pulled her in for a hug. Her head rested upon the fashionista’s chest while she consoled the young woman and knowing that Yang probably needed some space to comprehend the ugly truth.

Her body language sent a look of reassurance to the brawler letting her know that she was going to help Ruby as well.

Nora, meanwhile, sat next to her friend. Clearly unhappy to see her become so upset at what she had been hiding come out of the woodwork.

It was her obligation as a ‘team mom’ on RWBYJNR, and her maternal instinct she gained from raising her son for a year kicking into overdrive upon Ruby losing it.

Velvet had put her hand upon her shoulder, and Blake merely sat with Zwei, her ears matching the corgi’s saddened body language as he howled again.

“I…I didn’t know how far Oscar wanted to go with our friendship. I didn’t even know that he was being serious about it!” The reaper explained.

“So I felt scared. I didn’t want to lose another friend, but I think I did so anyway by leaving without a word!” Ruby sobbed, remembering the day after with great pain.

“So you didn’t leave a note?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, but I wrote it in a hurry!” The red warrior replied. “And now he probably doesn’t want to see me again!” she added, eyes puffy with tears.

Coco held Ruby’s chin up, looking her dead in the eye.

“Even if Oscar chose not to call back, do you really think he would be the kind of guy to hold a grudge?” She spoke, trying to reassure her. To which the latter sniffled again.

“No…I don’t think so, but I guess I was thinking more about myself, if anything. Just leaving him behind is what I felt would be quicker so I could get out sooner!” She said, resuming her sobs.

“But I didn’t! I was the one who was at fault for this!” she lamented trying to remain coherent through her sobs.

Ruby resumed her hysterical cries into Coco’s chest as the latter tightened her embrace, resting her head on Ruby’s to let her know that she wasn’t alone in this endeavor.

“Sweetie, no. Take it from somebody who’s broken a few girls’ hearts before,” the gunner explained, exchanging a concerned look with Velvet.

“Your situation with Oscar is nothing new. Okay? You two just need space to figure things out. You’re a Huntress, he’s now a suit. You’ll both pull through. I know you will.” Coco added with a tone that showed only love and warmth for friends reserved for when she wasn’t speaking in such a sassy or boastful manner.

Crescent Rose’s wielder sniffled again, her tears soaking Coco’s tank top as she sat back up. Eyes glazed and puffy from her crying while she looked up, then down taking deep breaths to cool off.

She held her hands out, inviting Zwei to her lap. The corgi abided by leaping into her arms, ears folded as his master pet him to gain some calm from her breakdown.

“You got anything to add, Yang?” Velvet asked. “You’ve been awfully quiet.” The Rabbit Faunus inquired, worried about the Brawler.

That was a massive understatement. Yang simply stood in between a set of lockers, silently observing how Ruby’s words about abandonment were chillingly similar to her experiences as a girl.

Except that unlike her sister, Ruby’s abandonment wasn’t as traumatizing as her own.

That didn’t stop it from hurting more than getting impaled by a Lancer’s stinger. It didn’t trigger the elder sibling to have a tremor, but she held nothing against Oscar.

At the same time, this was Ruby’s fault. Was it? Then again, he wouldn’t have pressure her about it. It wasn’t…Yang was torn.

She didn’t know who started it, clear as it was who abruptly finished it. Was she to get involved? Confront him about it? Confront her own sister on her actions?

“Well…” She tried to speak, confusion lacing her tone.

Before she could add anything, Ruby walked up and hugged her while Zwei began rubbing up against their legs in a cat-like manner.

“It’s okay, Yang.” She tiredly spoke. “I’ll understand who you think is at fault here.”

“I don’t know yet, Rubes. To be honest I heard it all wrong a year ago.” She replied as she hugged Ruby back. “Now, with this being let out, I just don’t know yet.” She continued, torn by this revelation.

The embrace broke after Ruby buried her face into her shoulder, and then looked up with remorseful eyes.

“Yeah. I know.” She admitted. “And look, I wasn’t trying to hurt Oscar. I sure as heck know that he didn’t mean any harm.” She continued, remembering his confession like it was yesterday.

Yang sighed as they let go.

“Nobody is blaming anybody yet. You should go out and get some air, sis.” said Yang, her sisterly instincts activating.

Ruby nodded, motioning Zwei to come with her.

“Thanks for your help, girls.” She said with a tone just as haggard when the truth came out. “But I need to figure this out by myself for now. I love you, Yang.” She beamed to her elder sister

“Love you too, Ruby. Be safe, will ya?” replied Yang as she watched Ruby and Zwei leave to room.

Ruby put on her shoes as she exited the gym, heading to her apartment in downtown Vale for a breather.


	5. Charisma Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Oscar reveal the truth to several of their friends, while others step in completely by accident. Or so they'd think.

Blake and Oscar had returned back to their hotel in order to discuss what the next move was.

She confirmed to him earlier that evening that she was here with Ruby, Weiss, Yang and the others.  


The elevator ride hadn’t given them much time to talk at first; his room was several floors below. Yet the crisp, cool air of Lake Sanctity couldn’t quite let the Goliath in the room go undetected seeing as how they were the only two people there.

“If you’re really sure about this, I’ll let one of them know.” said Blake. “But we’re gonna have to keep this under wraps for now.”

“Who’d you have in mind?” The farmer inquired.

“Initially, I was thinking of letting Jaune in on this. Since he was helping you re-adjust to society a bit after Ozpin…You know.” She replied.

“Yeah...” Oscar sighed wearily.

“I wasn’t planning on informing Yang. Personally, I think her reaction will be the least of our concerns. She wasn’t really angry upon Ruby telling the truth about your breakup.” Blake explained.

“She…Wasn’t?” He replied. Eyes widened.

The Faunus shook her head.

“After Ruby explained everything that happened on graduation night, Yang was more pissed about how she took off, just leaving you a note.” She added, also very disappointed in her team leader.

He didn’t even react with panic, more like sadness as he uttered another sigh. The thought of causing a feud between the sisters left many negative thoughts in the back of his mind.

He simply stood against the wall, arms folded as he stared at the swirl-striped carpet floor.

“Oh, shit…Oscar, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up.” Blake spoke.

“……”

But he said nothing, staring just as morosely as when she initially left the hotel for a short walk.

Blake scrunched her face in regret as she stepped forward, briefly getting him to make eye contact with her.

“No, really. I’m sorry for bringing that up. You were curious and I felt you were obligated to hear the truth.” She said, her face showing deep regret.

“It’s okay, Blake.” He answered. “I probably needed context, hard as that was to hear. And I’m not gonna blame myself for this because I know that Ruby and Yang are close. But it’s their differences on the situation that weren’t my doing.” He simply explained hoping to ease Blake.

_You’re right. It’s on her._ The assassin meant to say.

The metaphorical knife twisted at the thought of the idea as to how Ruby could have let him, hell, ANYBODY down like that. Prepared speech or goodbye notes be damned. 

Blake’s cat ears drooped. Her headband from earlier taken off as it was beginning to itch on her way downstairs.

Which gave her more leg room to show off her empathy with Oscar as he would notice her ears move about according to her feelings.

As they said good night before heading to their respective rooms, Blake snuck in after using the keycard on her teammates’ penthouse.

Her heels were taken off as she curled her toes on the carpet floor, feeling at ease from the heated flooring after her chat with the young entrepreneur.

The Faunus sighed as she looked over to see Ren and Nora in each other’s arms on the couch, a blanket covering their sleeping forms.

Across from them, Weiss sat in a recliner, her head tilted to the side resting on her fist as she lightly snored. She was also wearing Jaune’s jacket, probably due to what a gentleman he was being willing to help his friends out at a moment’s notice.

Case in point is when she looked into one of the penthouse bedrooms. Jaune was in a white shirt and boxer combo, sleeping on his chest on top of the bed’s comforter.

Blake noticed some of his scars on his biceps, reminding her of the struggle they all went through. He also snores the loudest which caused some of his buds to wear earplugs.

In another bedroom, Yang and Ruby slept in separate beds. Ruby’s hood was up with the comforter covering the rest of her body and Yang sleeping lazily adjacent from her sister and drooling on the sheets while she laid in her tank top.

Blake briefly rolled her eyes at one of the straps in Yang’s top being askew. Even when resting in a Kingdom where the temperature could edge near below freezing she couldn’t be the most modest when she was asleep.

_Eh. Gives me a chance to stay quiet for now._ Blake thought as she quietly shuffled off to her own bed and slept through another chilly night.__

_ _\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _

_ _The sun rose upon Atlas once again. Teams RWBYJNR quickly went through their morning routines, en route to get breakfast in the lobby dining area after getting dressed. Paying no mind to how quiet their morning was._ _

_ _Except for Nora and her all-seeing eye when it came to her friends, her perception was a trait her friends sometimes overlooked._ _

_ _“Hey. Blake.” She whispered as she noticed her raven-haired friend’s silhouette behind a privacy curtain while she got dressed._ _

_ _“Hey.” She quietly responded. “Anybody notice how long I was gone?”_ _

_ _Nora shut the door behind her as she tossed Blake her jacket which she caught behind the curtain._ _

_ _“Yang was asking how long you were walking at Sanctity.” She answered. “You would have gotten your butt whooped in Dance Dance Insurrection last night by the way. Ren beat his own score.” She mentioned, resisting the urge to swoon at her husband’s sick moves._ _

_ _“No surprise there.” Blake responded simply, knowing Ren’s moves were in a class of their own. “Let me just get my Scroll out. There’s something you should know about last night.”_ _

She stepped out from behind the curtain, having just put on her sweater.

Blake typed in the following on her Scroll’s notes in capital letters so that they wouldn’t be heard while their comrades were chatting away and just talking about today’s particular Con activities. 

_ _**YOU WERE RIGHT. OSCAR IS ALSO HERE ATTENDING THE CON.** The message read. Which Nora’s jaw fell agape at the news. __

_ _Were it not for the surprise she felt, she would have flipped. But knowing how covert they had to be for now it wasn’t worth the risk for a verbal reaction._ _

_ __ _

_ __ _

_ _ **SAYS HE MISSES RUBY. WANTS TO KNOW IF SHE’S DOING OKAY.** _ _

Nora looked outside; Ruby was thankfully nowhere to be seen as she was still busy getting dressed in her winter garb.

She held out a hand and raised an eyebrow as if to ask Blake what other details there were. The thought of Oscar still worrying about Ruby despite her poor treatment of him warmed her heart. And made her further upset at Ruby’s actions.

_ _ **WE SHOULD TELL JAUNE. YANG?** _ _

The ginger’s eyes widened as she crossed her hands in an X-shape, head shaking ‘no’ rapidly, the sound of metal rattling being heard with her shakes.

Blake winced, painfully nodding as she typed in another sentence.

_ _**I THINK THAT YANG WOULD BE THE LAST TO LEARN ABOUT THIS WITHOUT US LETTING HER KNOW.** _ _

_ _“How do you know?” Nora whispered._ _

_ _**BECAUSE NOTHING STAYS HIDDEN FROM HER FOR LONG IF IT INVOLVES FAMILY.** Blake typed. _ _

_ _Both women couldn’t argue with that, so Blake and Nora made a note in their Scrolls to tell Jaune first things first before they set out onto Day 3 of Table CONQuest. _ _

Blake explained that she got lost on the way back to their hotel, which Yang joked about how she was busy thinking of Sun’s abs on the way back to where they were staying.

_Blake simply nodded, happy to have her friend fill in the blank. Though, to be fair, she did miss Sun a great deal while he was hard at work with their daughter, along with Bestiary Academy. Especially those abs and his eyes? She could get lost in both forever._

_ _“At least I have photos of him to help with that itch.” She shot back. Made the others laugh at how nonchalant she was about responding to Yang’s risqué comments._ _

_ _Yang pouted._ _

_ _“Or how Weiss always tries to get Neptune to swim with her, probably losing focus at the image of his abs glistening in the water, right?” The blonde quipped, trying to get someone to react to her statements._ _

“Hey!” Weiss reacted in pretty much the same way as she did back at Beacon. Mission accomplished. This prompted another laugh from the group.

“I uh, you and Jaune…Oh, damn.” The Huntress tried to return fire, her floundering showing that it was failing.

No dice.

“I’ve got nothing. I don’t even know who you’re dating right now for this remark.” Weiss admitted.

_ _“Sorry, Weiss, but that was just a rumor you heard from the graduates’ union.” Jaune explained. “Yang is still dating Ilia, I think?”_ _

_ _“Sure am.” Yang replied, her iconic smirk forming. “It’s nothing personal, Jaune. You’re cute and all but I’m a bit occupied with my current girlfriend, you know?” she added._ _

_ _“It happens.” The paladin said with a shrug. “Don’t worry, Weiss, I’ve been getting that assumption a lot. But you’re good.” He said, placing a hand on the Dust magnate’s shoulder while her frown turned into a smile from his reassurance._ _

_ _“Ooh, so close.” Ruby whispered to her bestie._ _

_ _“Ruby!” Weiss snapped, shoving her as the hooded woman laughed._ _

_ _\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _

While seeing the sights on the Con floor and spending their hard-earned Lien on merchandise, Ruby stopped by _Slipstream Software’s_ booth to discuss how the ads and marketing will work for _Pinnacle Karate Knights 5._

She also caught up with one of the lead designers of the game, Lane Sewell.

_ _“Morning, Lane.” Ruby beamed._ _

“Hey, Ruby. Good morning.” Lane said, wiping the sleepiness from his eyes. “Sorry I’m late. The wife called regarding a school emergency with our kids, so I had to tend to progress reports and help them get ready for a test.” he added, fatigue showing on his face.

“No problem.” She said. “Sounds like you’re having your fill of business at home even while you’re here for Convention stuff.” She quipped

Lane tiredly nodded.

“Yeah. You could say that.” He said before clearing his throat and taking a sip of coffee.

Then he looked at his company’s new patron in the most cohesive way that he can after listening to his kids’ panicking at 5:00 AM in the morning, uttering a yawn while waiting for the caffeine to take effect.

“I take it you’re here to discuss how to advertise PKK5?”

“Yep.” She excitedly said. “So how are we promoting this?”

“Well, I was thinking of a mid-game scene. Where you’re challenging one of our developers with a fighter you’re best at with. I don’t think I caught which one you prefer.” He explained.

“Oh. I like to main Izanagi.” She replied.

“Ahh.” Lane replied. “So you have a thing for guys with scythes.”

“I use one to fight Grimm.” She said, with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “That alone was enough for me to roll with him.”

“No arguments there. We can discuss payment after the Con, considering that we’re moving into a new office over at this time. I just happened to have been able to squeeze myself into the special guest list in order to promote the game.” He said. “But I’m glad you were able to respond to our email regarding the promotion.”

“Is it just you here?” Ruby asked. “I know you’re busy and all, but I was thinking the guys would be with you at the booth.”

Lane took another sip of his coffee, then speaking on behalf of the rest of Slipstream’s staff for their whereabouts.

“Bigby and Aiden are running late. Apparently downtown Midgard is unfamiliar territory to them.” He said with an eye roll as they chatted further regarding Ruby’s sponsorship deal for Slipstream.

_ _=========================== _ _

Weiss and Yang were busy checking out the stage floor for Fortresses & Firehawks 6th Edition and how the designers currently worked on reformatting the competitive aspect of the game.

How it would be more Player vs. Player friendly with this iteration of rolling for initiative? The answer came in the form of a breakthrough in technology and programming.

Now you could use saved character sheets and profiles in order to jump into matches quickly, and perhaps serve as a good introduction for non-players who are more interested in competitive gaming to look into F&F.

Yang loved a good challenge. Weiss, on the other hand, while not into gaming, was fascinated by how much that even on the physical front of tabletop; things became so easily accessible for latecomers.

_ _===========================_ _

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Ren was on the phone with Kwan, who was the general manager of his and Nora’s restaurant for its shipment orders and how the kids were doing.

During that call, Nora and Blake were at the side noticing Jaune also on the line with his parents regarding the attractions relating to F&F. The women discussed how to break the news to him once it was just the three of them.

“Yes, Kwan. I’ll look into curry orders.” Ren spoke. “Okay. Okay, goodbye.” He said as he pushed the end call button, relieved that the call was over and began walking over to Nora and hugging her from behind.

“Would you like to check out the demonstration for 6th Edition?” he inquired with a hint of mischief that he rarely showed her.

_ _Nora held Ren’s cheek as she looked behind to meet his gaze with a smile._ _

“I’ll catch up with you, honey. Go ahead. Blake and I just need to uh, talk with Jaune super quick. Regarding business…” She said, in truth telling him about the news which he also kept under wraps.

Ren nodded as he exchanged a quick kiss with his wife. He walked over to sit with Weiss and Yang to check out what the hubbub regarding the game.

“Knowing Ren, he could help out a lot in moderating the discussion. Make sure things don’t get tense.” Blake explained. Ears shifted to each side in caution.

“Happy as I would be to see my spouse use his dashing charm and looks to help Oscar get a word in, you were pretty insistent on telling Jaune.” Nora replied.

“Besides, he’s up for discussing it later while we talk to him first.” She continued, gesturing her head over at the knight while he excitedly talked about tabletop shenanigans with his folks.

“If you say so.” Blake said with a nod. “It’s not that I’m having second thoughts about it, just that I may not have thought this through regarding the others, sans Yang.” She added.

“Not the first time it’s happened.” Nora added, remembering their earlier talks in Year 1 of Beacon.

“And you’re not the first to point it out.” Blake snarked. “Come on.”

As they walked over to where Jaune sat, he noticed them and held up a quick finger before finishing up the call with his father.

“Sure, dad. I’ll be sure to get photos. No, there won’t be flash photography. Yeah. Yeah, love you too. Bye.” He said, noticing the girls gesturing him closer.

Jaune hung up and noticed his ginger and brunette friends both with neutral expressions as he spoke.

“Something I can help you with, girls?” he asked, trying to use his old charms.

Blake’s Scroll vibrated with a text notification which she took a breath at then looked at her knightly comrade.

“Jaune, there’s something me and Nora have to tell you. It’s nothing major, but we thought you should learn about it.” She began.

“What’s up?” Jaune inquired with concern.

“It’s about Ruby.” Said Nora. “Don’t worry, she’s not in danger. But someone showed up here for the Con that Blake and I know about. We think you should help us out with that.” She added, to which Jaune stood up, even more concerned.

“Okay, who is it?” He said. Resisting the urge to crack his knuckles at whomever it may be…

“He’s not gonna hurt her.” Blake said. “Just hear us out for a minute, please.” 

The paladin took a breath as they continued, his fists slowly uncurling.

“Sorry. I got ahead of myself there.” He said, regretting that his anger nearly got the better of him.

Jaune felt a finger then tap his shoulder as he heard a voice before turning around.

A boyish kind of tone with a hint of a country accent, except it sounded a bit deeper than the last time he remembered hearing such a voice.

“I’d say that kind of response is out of the question at this point.” The voice spoke.

Jaune turned around and saw the source: A tanned farmhand in a green suit and ball cap which he removed to reveal his golden-brown eyes and a sheepish smile.

“Howdy, Jaune.” Said Oscar.

Upon seeing this sight, the blonde dropped his Scroll, recognizing those eyes, that scruffy hair and the gear symbol on the back of his suit jacket.

“Oh my gods…Oscar?” Jaune gasped, still in shock at seeing his old friend.

“The one and only.” He sighed, his face not containing the bittersweet feelings upon seeing Blake last night.

Conversely, it felt more like relief upon seeing Jaune’s face again, putting aside the differences they had back then and focusing on here and now.

“I guess that the cat’s out of the bag now, isn’t it?” lamented Oscar.

Blake ignored that phrase while Nora leaned in to see that it really was ‘Cute Boy Oz’ now grown up.

She really wanted to glomp him like the good old days. Instead, she quietly waved at Oscar, which he shyly returned as he turned back to Jaune.

“I was here for the Con originally, but it looks like I can’t really stay quiet on this any longer.” He said, smile briefly fading.

“You need our help in talking to Ruby.” The Huntsman deduced.

Oscar shook his head side to side.

“Not right now, since I can see that y’all are currently busy with Con activities.” Oscar asked. “When do you get off for the day?” he inquired.

“Around 19:00. That’s uh, 7:00 PM.” Jaune replied.

Oscar nodded. Taking note once again of the time zone differences in Atlas and Mistral.

“Heck, gives me plenty of time to think about what to say.” The shorter man said. “What about the others?” he asked, really uncertain about seeing his old friends again.

Nora spoke next.

“I told Ren about it, but we’re not gonna tell the others until we think about what to say next when Ruby comes along.” She said, grasping her left arm as Oscar noticed her jade-encrusted wedding ring.

This further reassured him that Ren could stay quiet until the big talk, knowing his man-of-few-words demeanor.

Always being patient in the tensest moments. Ren and his knack for setting people at ease could help diffuse the entire situation between Oscar and the reaper he still loved…Right?

“I believe you, Nora.” Oscar said, smiling again. “Where should we go?”

_ _\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _

After a fairly-lengthy discussion with Slipstream and their ad agency, Ruby finally sat down next to Yang, Weiss and Ren; arriving just in time as one of the designers successfully cast Polymorph on another designer’s Ice Wraith.

This was quickly followed by one of the Blue Team members casting magic missile on a Red Team’s Watcher, dealing weak damage.

The crowd applauded at the Red Team’s Polymorph attack. While Ruby excitedly pictured the idea of a Grimm getting hit with such a Spell, partially wishing that Thorn Bouquet had such an awesome attack method.

“Hmm. Shame to see the Ice Wraith get hit by that.” Weiss commented.

_ _“Nothing ice-related gets past you, doesn’t it?” Ren asked._ _

_ _“My name translates to white snow. I don’t see how I can get more aware about it than that.” She replied matter of factly._ _

Ren nodded, turning back to the demonstration as he continued recording the event on his Scroll.

Ruby also recorded the Red Team’s strike the moment she walked over to the stage while Yang took a selfie alongside her, peace sign held up with her right hand followed by a snarky text that read:

**Felt cute, might challenge my sister at F&F later. Idk**

As Yang uploaded the selfie hoping that Taiyang wouldn’t post some embarrassing comment insisting that Ruby and Yang play nice – then again, he follows both of his daughters on social media. Which is really awkward now that she thought about it.– she turned over to Ruby and whispered in between the designers’ comments on how terrain-based spells would work for 6th Edition.

“How’s your deal with Slipstream coming along?” Yang asked.

“Nothing major yet,” Ruby replied. “For now we’re just getting the script set up. Along with the studio to shoot the ads so we’ve barely started.”

“Are you nervous?” Ren inquired.

“Little bit.” Ruby answered. “I’ve welcomed First-Year students before, sat down for interviews, but being a marketing patron is a first.” she continued, her nervousness showing.

“Surely there’s no time like the present.” He said sweeping his hair back with his left hand.

“Yeah. No arguments there.” She said, looking back to Blue Team’s counter-attack and then turning back to the green ninja as if she remembered something.

“Hey, Ren?” she asked, nervousness shifting to this query.

“Yes, Ruby?” he simply replied.

Silver Eyes darted to the left and right as she spoke.

“Have you seen Nora? She’s usually right behind you.” She asked, still looking for Nora.

Upon hearing that question, Ren cleared his throat.

“She’s currently with Blake placing orders on additional convention merchandise for home. And checking in with Jaune to see if he can stay with the kids for a while on our next trip.” He replied, hoping that this answer works.

The reaper raised an eyebrow, wondering what the holdup in her friend’s response was.

“Is it that big of an order, though?” She inquired. “Weiss is paying for most of our stuff we buy here. What’s your Lien spending right now?”

“Nothing major.” Ren fibbed. “Just something for the next time she and I have to do some traveling.”

Ruby’s eyes squinted, but she nodded at his statement, failing to notice Yang giving him a suspicious look before they resumed observing the PVP demonstration.

“Hmm…” Yang pondered.

===========================

Afterwards, as Ruby and Weiss went to go fetch lunch, Ren sat up, stretching his arms out and off to speak with Nora, Blake and Jaune about the details regarding Oscar’s confession.

“Ren. What are you hiding?” asked Yang, moving to corner him.

At least, that was the idea before he was faced by the blonde bomber.

A stern look in her lilac eyes made him flinch, knowing that while he towered over the Huntress by an inch, it was still unnerving for him to be stared down like that.

“Oh. Yang. I was about to head upstairs and-” he attempted to explain.

“Don’t get cute with me, Lie, I could tell that you were hiding something from Ruby. What’s going on?” She asked.

Ren sighed. No point in trying to sugarcoat it so he proceeded with his answer.

“Do you promise not to freak out?” He asked.

Yang cocked an eyebrow in her interrogative expression but proceeded.

“Depends on what you’re saying.” She replied, trying to mentally prepare herself for this potential breaking news.

It was a good thing that Ruby and Weiss were outside the hotel picking up a lunch order for their friends; otherwise they would have had their ears blasted out by Yang’s reaction.

Wait for it.

Wait for it…

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?” She shouted from the bottom of the third row in the vendor hall, causing Ren to flinch harder at her reaction.

This prompted him to ask his ancestors for forgiveness regarding his attempt at a white lie.

_ _\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _

Oscar paced back and forth in his room. Nora and Blake sitting on the bed while Jaune sat in the recliner which sat across from the room’s desk.

He made room for the room’s occupant in case he needed to sit down and think, assuming he could stop digging a trench in the floor with his pacing nonsense.

“Feels like I’m in a dead end. I know that I’m probably digging myself deeper by dragging you guys into this. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but…” He sighed. “Now what?” he lamented.

Blake’s ears drooped yet again. Her golden eyes followed Oscar walking to and from one end of the room to another.

“That’s why we’re here and agreed to give you a hand with this. Please, Oscar, just calm down.” The Faunus begged, getting worried silly by her youngest friend.

Jaune couldn’t help but agree, guiding Oscar to his office chair as he sat down, slumped in front of his laptop in thought as he took a deep breath before continuing.

“I wish there were an easier way to do this without getting one of y’all involved.” He said, head shaking.

“It sounds more like you’re scared to do this alone.” Nora observed. “We’re not faulting you for anything here, even if you blame yourself for all this.” She tried to reassure, still quite miffed about Ruby’s actions.

“Well, here’s the thing.” Oscar began. “I know this isn’t my fault. I just miss Ruby and wanna make sure she’s okay. Am I rushing into this thinking that I can make things right ASAP?” He asked.

Blake attempted a response, but she couldn’t. For his self-deprecation, he was right.

It was as clear as the sun rising in the Grimmlands that the ex-farmhand may have been rushing feet first into this, worse if not for the intervention of his friends that he made during the Crisis.

“You’re only making it worse if you end up going it alone.” Said Jaune, clearly concerned for the young farmhand.

“It’s good that you end up meeting us here so we can give you a hand through this.” Jaune added with a bittersweet smile that somehow outdid Oscar’s feelings of regret.

“Yeah. You’re right.” He replied after taking another breath. “I’m not gonna lie to y’all when I say that I’m downright panicked at the idea of talking to Ruby after so long. What if she runs away again? What if I…Can’t face the facts?” he lamented again as his insecurities begin to rear its ugly head.

The other three exchanged looks of confusion, as if to ask Oscar what he meant by that.

His answer was cut short by the sound of several knocks at the door, which the cane-wielder dived behind the bed at. Not wanting to be seen if it was her.

“Who is it?” Jaune asked.

“It’s me and Yang, Jaune.” Ren sighed, clearly exhausted about Yang’s outburst. “Open the door.”

Jaune looked over to Oscar silently asking for his approval. The farmer nodded.

Jaune got up and turned the door knob, meeting Ren’s concerned face along with Yang. Her lilac eyes were tired after having one of her fits from her friend’s secrecy.

Thankfully it was taken outside off of convention center grounds for the brawler to melt snow and pound a tree so she wouldn’t cause a commotion in the middle of the vendor hall, being escorted out.

“Ren, did you- -” inquired the knight, concerned for everyone’s safety now.

“Yes, Jaune.” He interrupted with a solemn nod, holding up his green-coated Scroll with them and Nora’s status meter. “We tracked you with our team profile.”

Nora got up, sadly walking over to Ren as Oscar popped out from behind the bed. Yang’s face softened at the sight of him, now fully grown up.

Her sister’s tearful face flashed in her mind for a brief second as she laid her head on Coco’s ample chest for comfort.

“Hi, Oscar. It’s been a while.” Said Yang. Exhaling as she walked over, holding out her right hand to help him up.

“Howdy, Yang.” He said as he exchanged a lethargic handshake with her. “I, guess I couldn’t keep quiet for long, huh?”

“Nope.” The brawler said, putting emphasis on the P sound.

“Ren. What are we gonna do?” Nora asked. “If Ruby finds out then- -”

Ren shushed his wife, embracing her as their chests met in reassurance.

“It’s going to be okay, honey. He doesn’t have to face this alone.” He whispered. Kissing her on the forehead.

Her motherly nature went into full blown concern for the boy, now a man; she would have freely taken a bullet for during the shadow war.

“We’re not leaving him again.” He said to her with the determination only a father would have protecting his kids.

Yang looked at her friends, and then back at Oscar.

“I think we should talk.” She said, putting her cybernetic hand on his shoulder.

“Okay.” Oscar said with a nod. “Where at?” He asked.

“There’s a self-serving bar in the hotel lounge. Drinks are on me so we can figure this out.” The other blonde explained.

“We’ll get through this, bud. We’ll hear both sides of this story. It’ll be fine.” Yang reassured.

Oscar frowned, but then allowed himself to smile.

He was truly relieved to see such warmth coming off of a woman who used to give the eons-old dead wizard the cold shoulder (no pun intended) whenever he took control of his body.

But she hoped Oscar would be okay, did what she could to make sure that Ozpin would ascend in time. So that they could achieve the impossible by putting an end to Salem’s reign of terror on top of helping the wizard finally rest.

She had come to terms that while Ozpin’s actions were gray as the hull on an Atlesian capital ship, it was done to keep Humanity safe.

_I’ll help him, Oz._ Yang thought, hoping to be able to help console his final host who lived to fight another day. For him to then return to society and find his purpose.

The blonde’s thoughts were interrupted by her Scroll vibrating, the ringtone going off. Her eyes widened at the Caller ID: A red rose.

“Uh-oh. It’s Ruby.” Nora said, irises shrinking at the distant ID.

“Let’s split. Jaune, let’s regroup at the bar later tonight when the Con is closing for the day. We’ll meet you there, Oscar. I’ll handle the call.” Yang ordered as she slowly left the room to answer the call and avoid any suspicions from her sister.


	6. Tavern Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Over a few drinks, Oscar has a sit-down venting session with Yang and Jaune.  
Meanwhile, Ruby listens in on his side of the story, and decides to finally take charge.

_Of all the things I had to lie to Ruby about, it had to be old associates up here. Real smooth, Yang._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In hindsight, Yang Xiao Long had always been a bad liar.

Even when she tried to play innocent when it came to attempting to sneak Summer’s famous cookies when she was a kid, that brutal honesty she picked up from both of her biological parents just couldn’t hide her zany schemes like she had intended to.

Case and point: When she looked at herself with her Scroll’s camera on selfie mode, wearing her orange tank top and shorts after a circuit workout in the hotel’s gym.

Helped her let out some frustration and think during her cooldown about the rendezvous in the bar. Where she would be both paying and serving drinks for the inevitable talk with Oscar regarding what to do about his post-breakup kerfuffle.

Yang’s current mood? Uncertainty. Highlighted by her eyebrows arched downwards since she wasn’t really someone you should be asking about this stuff.

She usually preferred a casual fling with her suitors. Nothing serious, but only if she or them really insisted on it.

...Except that she was kind of a heartbreaker on that front due to her Huntress duties, and her friends, and…Let’s face it: Yang wasn’t what you would call girlfriend material.

That was until she met Ilia and they hooked up at Blake and Sun’s wedding of all places.

They talked now and then in between preparation. After all, Yang was assigned as Blake’s Maid of Honor and Ilia was one of her bridesmaids.

They were very awkward at first, ironic seeing as how Yang was very straightforward while Ilia was more reserved. What the hell was holding them back?

Well, it all started over their respective friendships with Blake. They both related over how rocky it was with her during the conflict.

Yang with losing her after the Fall of Beacon and getting amputated, Ilia with confessing her crush to her right in the middle of when she was being cat-napped during the assassination attempt on her family.

It was, uh, jarring to say the least regarding how Blake had been so forgiving and pushed away running from her demons for so long compared to back at Beacon and afterwards.

Stranger was how Yang had almost developed a crush of her own on her partner during the trip to Atlas back then, and how they had to call it off considering how busy they were in the war after an awkward reunion with Team SSSN in Vacuo. 

So yeah… For all of her beauty and her charm, (read: her reputation as a sex symbol) Yang wasn’t the luckiest one when it came to relationships.

There was something about her and Ilia facing abandonment issues and loss when they were little that helped strengthen their bond.

And that was the key part about most romantic relationships, wasn’t it? Shared interests and traits, those helped make Yang and Ilia – of course including how they amended fences with Blake – so compatible with one another.

===========================

Yang closed the camera on her Scroll, focusing back to the present.

Jaune also felt, justifiably, like a deer caught in the proverbial headlights when it came to coming up with an excuse to follow her down there.

And boy did it raise suspicions in their group of friends sans Ren, Nora and Blake.

Having seen these unusual events around her friends, Weiss, being the businesswoman she was, assumed that it was a scam being set up by a group of idiots who wanted to sell such asinine things like medical alert devices, volcano insurance and many more shady products.

Ruby, on the other hand, played along for the time being, seeing through Yang and Jaune’s ruse that something was up. Why now?

Why in the middle of their vacation do her friends discuss this strange string of events with two of the most prominent blondes to become Hunters and grace Remnant with being so awesome? The two were about as subtle as a brick to the head. Had it been anyone else, Ruby would not have picked on this.

“How far back do you go with them?” Ruby asked.

“Second Year at Signal.” Yang answered. “They hooked me up with Bumblebee’s mechanic. Now they’re looking to try to invest in me getting a new bike.” She said with a nostalgic frown.

In remembrance as to how she turned it into a motorcycle-shaped anchor in Argus, daydreaming about how it would have been such an anchor for Adam’s corpse.

Upon that memory, Yang’s left hand twitched with one of her tremors. She grasped it irritatingly with her cybernetic hand.

“Oh, screw you, you non-robotic piece of crap!” She snarked sharply, eyes rolling in frustration at this turn of events.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at her sister’s remark, questioning her sister’s sanity.

“……Yang, did you just curse out your…hand?” asked the Reaper, eyes widened at her big sister.

After a few second trying to formulate her response…

“Uh…Eh…I…Nevermind.” She responded quickly, hoping to avoid worrying her baby sister.

Ruby blinked at her sister barking at her fleshy hand.

She then shrugged and went back to organizing purchased merchandise from the vendor hall before playing some _Absurd Competition_ split-screen Team Deathmatch with Ren, Nora and Blake to brush up on their gaming skills from back at Beacon.

Ruby always called dibs on the Shock Rifle. Ren naturally always got dual Enforcer pistols first things first.

“Do I have to use the Impact Hammer?” Blake complained, not used to this game’s choice of melee weaponry. “It feels so sluggish.”

“Eh.” Nora said with a shrug. “That’s why I prefer the Rocket Launcher. Soooo fun to blow everyone up with the dummy fire.” She added with a grin. In reference to the weapon’s alternate fire which shot rockets as if they were grenades.

“You two sound like you can’t wait to teach Charlie and Elsa how to play this.” Ruby observed to the couple.

“Indeed.” Ren said with a smile. “So long as they help out around the restaurant and do well in school, I see no problem with teaching them in the ways of gaming.”

Nora snorted with a laugh along with Ruby.

“Oh, Renny.” She said, nuzzling her man. “You and your straight face when it comes to some things.”

“What?” Ren said defensively, smile not fading as he ruffled Nora’s hair. “I was only stating my duty as a parent.”

Nora shook her head with a smirk as they kissed, logging into their Scroll gaming network accounts as _Absurd Competition 5: The Mistrali Conflict_ was booted up.

“Ruby, are still joining?” Blake asked.

“Um, yes!” The reaper answered excitedly. “I’m almost done packing this up with Weiss. So I’ll just be a minute.” She quickly joined in the game, hoping for a blast playing with her friends.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night…

This particular area of the lounge was for VIP patrons, which Weiss was able to pay for upon Yang’s request.

A private bar area which was thankfully unoccupied, save for a lone barkeep who was about to take a last call order.

Jaune, Yang and Oscar sat down to see the barkeep walk on over for his final order of the night before clocking out.

“What can I get for you?” He asked.

“Strawberry Sunrise, no ice.” Yang predictably ordered, presenting her Lien card.

“I’ll have an ale.” Said Jaune.

“Can uh, can I have a cider?” Oscar asked, anxiously grinning.

The bartender nodded, swiping Yang’s card through the register and handing them bottles of their respective drinks.

He wished them a good night as he clocked out, as Yang was handling refilling her Sunrise and the boys’ drinks behind the counter.

The guys were left with a glass bowl of pretzels to eat in order to handle the inevitable alcohol-related munchies.

The salty snacks has set Oscar at ease as he downed a sip of the tangy apple drink. He looked at Yang and waited for the question as to what precisely occurred during the breakup.

“You’re not recording this, right?” He asked her.

Yang smirked.

“What is this, an interrogation?” She jokingly asked. “Just relax, Oscar. This is staying between you, me and him.” She said, pointing at Jaune as she took a swig of her Sunrise before adopting a more serious look.

===========================

“Okay. Before we get hammered enough, you ready to talk?” Yang asked the farmhand, feeling the alcohol slowly having the desired effect.

The cane wielder looked over at Jaune, who confidently nodded in reassurance. Oscar nodded back as he looked towards Yang who stood behind the bar.

“Yeah.” He said, sighing and resigning himself to this questioning.

Yang nodded next, before saying: “If you don’t wanna talk about one of my questions, you can just let me know and we’ll skip. I know this is a lot for you to bring up.”

“I’ll be fine.” Oscar spoke. “Fire away.”

Yang took another sip before resting her arms on the bar table, her lilac eyes looking directly at his hazels.

“From the top: When did you and Ruby have your one-night stand?” she calmly said, beginning her inquiry about that fateful night.

Oscar cleared his throat.

“It was the next day after y’all graduated. Ruby and I had sort of been dating at that point, but we were more just experimenting regarding how it all worked.” He began. “That was, uh…six months at the time.” He continued, trying to suppress the pain she left.

“Just making sure.” Said Yang. “We were pretty occupied with Senior Year, so I was missing a few things. I knew you two were dating but given how we were buried in our studies after the war, I just lost track.” She explained.

“Not to mention clearing out Grimm nests during our Missions for Glynda while the rest of Vale was under reconstruction.” Jaune added, remembering those missions with a hint of nostalgia.

“How, exactly?” Oscar asked, curious of those missions.

“Well, we came up with some pretty unorthodox methods.” Jaune replied. “Fire was pretty common. When the Wyvern hatched out of the shell from Ruby’s initial use of her Silver Eyes, that damn dragon had dropped spawning pools for the Grimm in the Forever Fall, a lot of the rural counties outside of Vale City, Mountain Glenn. Sealing the nests was our top priority.” He lengthily answered.

“Did Ruby ever use her eyes?” Oscar asked again.

“Oh, totally.” Yang answered. “By the time we returned to the real world from the Realm of Darkness after we kicked Salem’s ass, Ruby basically became a master with them. It certainly made killing the Wyvern easier with the help of the Atlas fleet.” Continued the Brawler.

Oscar remembered when he was in a makeshift hospital bed within a refugee camp in the Kingdom’s sole resemblance of a resistance movement at the time, the Vale People’s Militia.

They had been a fighting force to match the Army and fighting alongside Huntsmen to push back the Grimm and the bandits who plagued the fallen central Kingdom.

Another such group that acted in place of a fighting force, though, really, they were more like first responders on steroids was the Vale Emergency Response Alliance.

With their search and rescue teams trained to respond within a moment’s notice, VERA had pulled the kids out of a kill zone where Atlas mutineers had set a line in the sand planning to shoot any Huntsman/Huntress on sight. Since the rogues had blamed them for making them abandon their posts and defy their country.

In Oscar’s defense, he was in a coma and recovering from Ozpin’s departure and ascension to the afterlife within the sick bay of the vault where Amber had been kept during the initial rising tensions of the conflict.

So he didn’t have time to witness the Wyvern descend claws-first into Hell before disintegrating to ashes like the demon it was so rightfully recognized as.

“Did you and Ruby go out together before you…did the deed?” Yang inquired with hesitation, focusing her thoughts back to the present within the warm bar in the cold city.

“We hung out for a bit earlier that day. Just talked about what we were gonna do ever since peace took hold of the world." Oscar answered.

Then we came back to my apartment and just hopped to it without a word.” He said with a sad smile. Remembering their night in for what it was rather than how it turned out the next day.

Yang paused, setting her drink down and noticing that despite Oscar’s fond recollection of that evening she couldn’t help but notice the dourness in his golden-brown eyes. 

The feeling of loss from the love he had in his eye, to sorrow of finding out that his first crush and love was gone by sunrise.

Here he was now, lonely at the top with an agriculture empire co-founded by his Aunt under his belt.

All without Ruby by his side, talk about heartbreaking.

This angered Yang to know her sister did such a terrible thing to a man who would move the world to be with her.

===========================

Ten minutes into the discussion with the major questions out of the way, Oscar presented Yang with Ruby’s goodbye letter which wasn’t easy to hand over without his eyes tearing up.

He could barely compose himself as Yang began to read the letter, almost taking a swig of her sunrise, but setting it down before the grenadine would affect her reading voice.

**Oscar.**

**I know that neither of us will feel good from this letter, but I wanted to let you know that I think we should call this relationship off. It wasn’t an easy decision.**

**I had fun with you last night. But it’s with my duties as a Huntress, your duties as a businessman, it occurred to me that our jobs wouldn’t let us stay in contact very often.**

**I’m truly sorry about this whole thing. I wish we could stick together, but with our separate occupations there’s not a lot of time for that.**

**Nor did I allow myself time to think about it. I know that I’ll hurt you pretty bad, and I’m sorry.**

**We’re probably gonna see each other sometime. And I can’t lie when I say that I’d really like for us to still be friends.**

**I’ll admit that’s selfish of me to ask, seeing as how by the time you read this letter, I’m gone. But I know that we’ll amend fences someday.**

**I look forward to seeing you one day. I hope that we can put this behind us and move forward.**

**-Ruby Rose**

Seeing her sister’s wording barely clinging on to her usual upbeat state in bidding him adieu made her heart sink.

Other than being disgusted in how selfish she was being, it still hurt like hell to read her being so hopeless. It was so saddening in having to write a letter like that to a guy who was in love with her.

_Oh, Ruby…_ Yang thought. Taking a drink to try and numb the disappointment she felt from the letter.

Oscar said nothing; merely face planted the bar with his head in his arms.

Jaune wiped a tear from one of his sapphire eyes as he placed his arm around him. Part of the knight wished that Pyrrha were here to relate with the young man about heartbreak and the sheer weight of it.

“Sorry.” Said Yang, eyes darting back and forth to the floor. “How long did you keep the letter?” She asked, her voice laced with concern for Oscar.

He looked back up to her, now composed.

“I…I was cleaning my office one day, and then I saw it still on display in the glass on top inside my photos of Vale. Right on my desk.” He confessed.

“Why didn’t you get rid of it?” Jaune asked next.

Oscar looked back at the letter which lay across from Yang. He sighed, and then shook his head with a shrug back at Jaune.

“I don’t really know. None of this makes sense, guys.” He said as he took another sip of his hard cider; the alcohol causing him to wince before going into a tirade.

“There I was, ready to accept my fate as being assimilated by Ozpin, with Salem nearly consuming all of Remnant with Grimm when we gathered the four Relics. While we all nearly died because of the Gods’ stubbornness, and the next thing I knew I was in a coma after Ozpin’s ascension.” He ranted before continuing on. 

“Then I wake up, the day’s saved, and Ruby tells me that she knows how I feel about her. What do you say to that?” He asked.

“So I didn’t act on it for a while. We still hung out now and then, but Senior Year rolls around and we decided to start making dating a thing. It was a little awkward at first but we rolled with the punches. Made ourselves look presentable for the other students.” He said the last part with another nostalgic smile. 

“Heh. You probably don’t remember the looks she got for dating a civilian. We made a few heads turn, to say the least.” He continued, remembering the looks some civilians and Hunters gave them.

It was an interesting note he made about that point in their deeper friendship where a Huntress was in such a friendship with a non-combatant.

Yeah, it wasn’t unheard of for say, active military personnel. 

But one would figure that after such a cataclysmic event which was stopped at the last second by Salem’s death, and how seven students of Beacon were given a hero’s welcome back after saving Beacon, Vale, and all the other such places, that it would be considered normal, right? 

Ren and Nora were the biggest couple in their Class after Scarlet and Sage. So what made Oscar and Ruby different? What was so unique about how they couldn’t take their eyes off of each other?

Where did it go wrong?

“I mean, you never told them about anything regarding how you knew me, Ozpin or the others.” Said Yang, handing out another bowl of pretzels to the others.

“Or how you retrieved Ozpin’s cane, then putting it in a display case at the memorial wall for the Battle of Beacon.” Jaune then pointed out before taking another swig of his frothy ale.

Oscar hesitantly nodded, his smile fading again.

“Yeah. But that was because I only got lucky with the excuse that I was a distant relative.” He answered, eyes tired from the stress he felt on his broad shoulders.

“If it weren’t for Glynda’s intervention, I would have been swarmed by the press or the other students who were coming home when I helped light the torch.” Oscar continued

The farmer was in luck that nobody found it was a perfectly designed replica. He dodged a bullet with museum curators questioning the faux cane’s authenticity.

Dodged a second one with the Prime Minister of Vale inviting him over tea. Asking for what his idea was on rebuilding downtown Vale and help peacefully dissolve the Militia so that they could return to their normal lives. 

And another one with Glynda demanding the PM let him be since he was still shell-shocked over the whole war.

Yet another damned bullet when he had to hold back Salem’s minions alone for a few minutes.

_Now that I think about it, I dodged more than I should have._ Oscar thought to himself, surprised at this recollection.

“This sounds like you’re having more doubts than usual.” Said Yang, still concerned for the young man.

“You have no idea.” Oscar sighed with a shake of his little head. “What am I doing wrong here, Yang? Ruby probably hates me now.” He lamented, realizing the potential problems of showing up here.

“NO!” She yelled, slamming her left fist on the bar table and startling everyone, resisting the urge to crush the mahogany with her robotic hand in anger with the young man’s blatant assumption.

“No, Oscar. Get that shit out of your head, because that’s not true!” she yelled, hoping to make Oscar rethink.

The farmer flinched, Jaune as well at Yang’s eyes briefly flashing red at that response.

Yang recognized the heat in her eyes so she took a deep breath and taking a minute to get a grip on one of her tremors to calm down before continuing.

“Sorry. That line of thought just pisses me off.” She said more calmly. “Mind if I give you some advice?” she asked, hoping for some kind of response

Oscar laid his head in his arms again, this time facing the elder sibling.

“At this point, I’ll take anything regarding me and her.” He said. Wishing that he was more drunk to sit through this post-breakup bullshit.

Yang looked at Jaune. Who nodded as he had heard these words from him before one day after he was feeling down about Pyrrha, having met her parents in Argus shortly before resuming Year 2 of Beacon.

“Alright, Oscar. Lemme tell you something about heartbreak.” Yang began, pouring herself another Sunrise, this time at a fuller level.

“I’m listening.” He said.

“When somebody lets you down on that level, ergo, you and Ruby, you learn a thing or two about right and wrong. Things get blurry for a while. You lose touch with…Most things in life. Reality. Your purpose.” She rambled.

“When Blake and I had to split during the Crisis, she and I just agreed on it because it never went anywhere. It never got serious. Seeing her reunite with Sun in Vacuo just helped me wizen up and focus on the goal to get the Relics and stop Salem.” Upon that memory, she took a swig before continuing.

“We’re still friends because neither of us was interested in blowing each other off after that. Not when our teammates needed us the most. It was just tension that we were giving into. It wasn’t peer pressure, just some pent-up frustration from the time she left me. How we were still coping from Adam’s last dance.” She finished with a pause before continuing, taking another Sunrise sip.

“Okay, so what does that have to do with me and Ruby?” Oscar inquired.

Yang swiped some pretzels before her answer, looking the farmer in the eye again.

“You two were so lost in each other that at some point you may have just plain not taken your future together into account.” She deduced before raising both hands up.

“Now, I’m not saying that either of you did anything wrong. Sounds like you were both hitting all the marks but ended up having a ‘heat-of-the-moment’ when you ended up…There.” Yang added, shooting Oscar an apologetic look for bringing it up again.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea now.” He replied.

“You do?” Yang asked.

“Yeah.” Oscar wearily answered. “We were going at it too quick and she felt overwhelmed at what to do next. Hence why she left.” He added next, taking a smaller swill to numb the mental pain at the idea of Ruby being responsible for such a callous act.

Yet there he was on that day at 08:30 AM, alone in his bed. Reading the note just after breakfast and being lonely, save for Aunt Em, with a world at peace, but a broken heart in its wake sometime after.

Or was it two?

Bah. If anything, Oscar was happy to finally talk with someone about it other than Aunt Em nearly throwing a fit at the image of such a nice young lady like Ruby leaving her baby boy like that.

He counted his blessings that Aunt Em didn’t go down the path of Huntress or else Ruby would have a lot more to worry about.

Em could empathize with Ruby, given her own history of bad relationships and ending up with some selfish boyfriends while essentially being a surrogate single parent for her nephew.

She wanted to see if Ruby was okay following that night, followed by an ass-whooping from her in how Ruby had acted so selfishly.

When she and her friends had helped Oscar out of a tight jam, he didn’t have the heart to tell her about it for the sake of not scaring her into near-death once again.

Oscar looked into his glass, seeing his tanned reflection, which was as clear as day within the cloudy, amber drink.

He looked back up at Yang, this time with a sigh of relief and a small smile at how he much he wanted to repay her for such gracious listening.

_Smoke if you’ve got ‘em._ The farming CEO thought to himself. _Because you never know who’s got your back at some point._

“You know, I know I may have seemed hopeless in all this, but I’m starting to feel a little better having just been listened to.” He said. “It’ll take a while, but I may end up talking to Ruby again. Thanks Yang.” He said with a nod.

“Anytime, bud.” Yang said with a nod back as she toasted her glass with the guys and all three finished their drinks. “And we’ll back you up through the talk. Sound good?”

===========================

Little did they know that Ruby was just upstairs in the bar paying with her own Lien card, covering her mouth in shock and struggling to hold back tears at what she just heard.

Oscar wanted to talk to her again? Here?! No, when?!

How was she supposed to process that, when she had left him behind so poorly, the decision haunting her to this day.

While she was glad that she heard his side of the story, she heard the criticism before when it was as clear as day.

It was all her fault.

“Oh my gods...” Ruby tearfully whispered, voice breaking at the truth. “Oscar, I’m so sorry.” She sobbed, hoping that no one heard her.

She ran off as to not get spotted by the three that were present downstairs.

Their laughter was overheard from a funny memory of one particularly hefty serving of ramen in Mistral, leaving them all feeling bloated in between goofing off before nabbing the Relic of Knowledge.

Ruby snuck her way into a nearby restroom, shutting the door and taking the time to cry all the pent up sorrow.

She was being quiet all the while as her friends – Could she still be friends with Oscar? – walked back to their rooms. Which gave Ruby plenty of time to let it out.

She curling up into a ball one of the stalls as she weeped for a good minute or so before looking herself in the eye.

“Oh, Oscar!” Ruby whimpered. Her tears staining her arms and seeping down onto the knees of her pant legs. “I thought you were back in South Anima, but you’re here now and we gotta bring this up again! I’m not ready, and I don’t even know what to say to you…”

The truth stung more than a Lancer’s whip-stinger. Ruby already knew damn well that this was on her, but she was having an even harder time processing what to say to Oscar when the others inevitably bring up the chat. 

Who would back her up? Who would take his side? Who would do anything, she wondered.

After having her sobbing moment, Ruby stood up, turned on the faucet to the restroom sink and splashed some warm water in her face in order to get a hold of herself.

She looked back up, ignoring her silver discs being reddened from her tears.

Her lengthy haircut which she styled to look identical to Summer’s was going to be inevitably disheveled tonight when she slept or rather she would have difficulty sleeping upon hearing this news.

Which was going to suck considering that tomorrow was the last day of the Con for the year. And they had to catch their flights home on Friday afternoon.

Ruby looked down to her hands grasping the sink.

She took deep breaths to help herself think about what to do next and how to prepare herself for the talk, trying to remember some advice on what to do for something this personal.

_Ruby._ She remembered Taiyang’s words after her and Oscar’s break-up.

_Sometimes, love doesn’t feel like it should. You end up thinking about yourself in order to try and make sense of it at times whenever there’s a roadblock between you and your partner. That’s not a new thing; in fact, it’s kinda normal._

_But, dad._ She spoke back at the time. _When Raven left, you nearly swore off mom for a while. Was there any good reason looking back?_

In that memory, Tai frowned.

Not at his daughter bringing up such a bad memory but pointing out how he felt about his last wife sometimes after his first took off when Yang wasn’t even a year old.

_Honestly? No._ The mountain of a father answered back.

_I was so pissed off about how Rae left me with Yang shortly afterwards that I shifted the blame onto Summer. I know it wasn’t her fault; I just couldn’t make sense of it at the time._ He continued. _Worse is how when Qrow started drinking when she didn’t come back from her mission, I nearly fell into the same habit as him."_

_Well, what does this have to do with me and Oscar?_ She asked. The similar wording listening in on the farmer’s conversation with her sister in the present not being lost on her.

_Look at it this way: By now, I’m guessing you know the feeling of loneliness, right?_ Tai inquired.

_Yeah, what about it?_ Ruby answered, focusing on the post-breakup loneliness in comparison to the kind she felt after her teammates split for a while from the Fall of Beacon.

_See, breaking up with someone takes a long time to heal._ Her father began. _At first it feels like life loses meaning. You just feel a void in your heart. You go numb, and you learn to soldier on through it all._

In the memory, Tai held Ruby’s chin up, his baby blue eyes meeting her silver ones with a look of encouragement.

_And that’s the key to the whole process._ Tai said with a smile. _It takes time._

In the present, Ruby dried her tears upon memorizing her dad’s words on how to cope from her whole situation with the farmer who developed a crush on her.

She took another deep breath, now knowing what she had to do and looking back in the mirror. Her face now showed a new fiery look of focus in her eyes that helped slay the devil herself.

Ruby spoke.

“I’ve gotta talk to him.” She said. “It’s time I un-screw this whole thing up.”


	7. Roll for Initiative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Ruby and Oscar's eventual chat! Could go his way, could go hers.

Ruby trudged through the hallway with her hands in her skirt pockets.

The uncertainty was washing over her like a waterfall in the forests of Mistral which she honestly would have rather been compared to this current predicament.

So, Oscar wasn’t far behind her this whole time. Honestly, he hadn’t even planned to run into Ruby’s friends here.

This didn’t bode well for her since she had moved on, or so she thought. She wanted to put this behind her. Ruby already knew it was a crappy thing that she did leaving him like that.

No wonder she always stepped back in recent relationship discussions with her friends and allies. The other women knew that it made her uncomfortable, and the guys just always dodged the subject.

With Jaune’s love life being a mixed bag, his big brother-like instinct towards Ruby couldn’t allow him to leave her hanging whenever the topic came to light.

He wanted to side with her in the argument. To become a shoulder to cry on whenever he was brought up.

However, his disappointment was quite noticeable when she ran off from Oscar after their night together. He kept his distance from her because of this.

And then there was here and now, listening earlier to one of her best friends talking with her old flame about finally getting through the stages of grief; the same one that led her right into this dilemma.  


A Game of Embers.

Embers were probably too dramatic a description to describe just how much this breakup hurt them both.

Did Ruby care how it sounded? Eh. Probably not.

To be fair, breaking up with someone who survived sharing a brain with your eons-old dead headmaster isn’t exactly something you feel completely clean about.

It’s funny. Were it not for the fact that Raven is an ex-bandit leader who nearly set her on fire at the Battle of Haven, was willing to flip off Yang with her ‘might makes right’ crap, and return home to Taiyang a broken woman, she could have offered Ruby some interesting advice on how to deal with heartbreak.

_No freaking way._ Ruby scolded herself. _That would just make things worse, and only anger everyone else. You’re better than that, Ruby. I think…_

She ran down the hallway back to their penthouse catching her breath as she held her hand up against the wallpaper, eyes baggy, lengthy hair now frazzled and too tired to cry.

What a way to end up in on vacation.

Ruby leaned against the wall, back sliding down to the garish carpet floor, but before she could stick her landing…

_Click_

“Hello?” A male voice spoke. “Somebody in here?”

It was Jaune.

The knight had looked to his side, making startled eye contact with Ruby who looked up in her sorry state. She only said nothing as she stood up, Jaune helping her to her feet.

“What's wrong, Ruby?” He asked, concern written all over his face.

She paused, looking to the floor as Jaune put a hand on her shoulder to comfort whatever she was going through.

Hopefully it wasn’t what he thought it was, but she was about to prove him horribly wrong.

“J-Jaune?” She whimpered.

“Yeah?” He replied. “Where- -Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

His response was interrupted by Ruby grabbing him for a tight hug, this one out of panic as the jig was finally up.

There was no point hiding it, merely facing the music at how shitty Ruby had acted.

“Jaune?” Nora sluggishly asked from the back over at the couch after putting on her Boop T-shirt. “What’s happening?” She inquired, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

The answer was in clear view as Ruby looked up from burying her distraught face in Jaune’s chest, her eyes reddening once again from sadness and anxiety.

“Hey, Nora…” She sniffled.

Nora gasped.

Ren’s face twisted in shock as he put his glasses on after yawning, recognizing that the secret was out as his heart sunk at his friend’s emotional state.

“Oh, no.” The gunslinger whispered, exchanging a shocked look with his wife at this exchange between the two team leaders.

And on that look of silence, Ruby broke down crying again.

Not as intensely as she initially did in the restroom but muffling it with burying her face into Jaune’s shirt which served as a tear rag in this current moment.

His chest was more rock-hard than Coco’s from that day in the locker room, but still serving as a good enough catalyst for releasing her pent-up frustration.

With his brotherly instincts going full throttle, Jaune hugged Ruby back in the same way he would comfort one of his sisters.

One arm around the shoulder, one around the head as he gently ran his fingers through the maroon locks to calm her down. Then patting her back with the hand around her spine.

Jaune rested his head on top of hers so she could let it out.

“How much did you hear in the lounge?” The knight asked.

“L…Long enough.” Ruby whimpered. “I knew you and Yang were hiding something, but I had to come and see for myself since I just didn’t believe it. I’m not mad at you, Jaune! I swear!” She shouted, “But why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Well…Because we didn’t want to put a damper on our trip. You’ve been so distraught about Oscar that we couldn’t tell you yet. Last time we talked about it, you broke down and were despondent for days” Jaune hesitantly answered while stroking her hair in a caring manner.

“How long were you planning on hiding this?” Ruby asked, having gotten her fits of sorrow out of her system for now.

Jaune frowned; Blake said nothing as she came out in her yukata robe, merely letting her flattened cat ears do the talking as she stood against her door frame, overhearing the commotion.

“We were gonna bring Oscar in so he could talk to you.” Blake answered for him. “There wouldn’t be any interference, just let you two talk it out.” She continued, hoping against hope that the two can patch things up.

Ruby looked over at Blake in confusion, blinking away several more tears as she spoke back to her friend.

“Even after what a jerk I’ve been in this whole deal After how I left without a word, and I needed to be called out on it?” The reaper pitifully replied.

Blake attempted to formulate a response.

“Because we- -“

_Crash!_

Another interruption reared its’ ugly head as all eyes turned to Weiss and Yang, the former dropping a teacup and saucer at the secret coming out.

The latter shrank away as she felt intimidated by her younger sister of all people about this topic no longer being a secret.

Purple and icy blue eyes widened at just what the hell was happening here, Yang’s slight stumble from having a couple of Sunrises reared its ugly head.

Ruby stepped away from Jaune and walked over to Weiss, who dried one of Ruby’s eyes as she sadly looked at her bestie without saying a word.

The silence continued for several minutes before Ruby broke down in tears again, clutching herself in Weiss’ arms as the snow-haired CEO let her friend cry it out.

The mucus from her nose and heated tears trickled down her nightgown as she gave her the tightest hug that her tiny frame could muster.

“What in Remnant is going on here?” Weiss demanded to know, eyebrows furrowing at Jaune and mortified at what is happening to her gown.

Everyone but Ruby, just looked at the knight, who looked down at his necklace of Pyrrha’s javelin emblem as if asking for reassurance about what he was going to say next.

It was now or never, so he tucked the necklace into his shirt then spoke truthfully about what the situation was.

“Weiss.” Jaune began. “We need your help.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oscar returned to the hotel lobby shortly afterwards, taking his time to burn the goodbye letter in the snow field at Lake Sanctity after gaining his groove back. Finally, he’ll be able to talk to the woman he loves again.

He felt like a new man, renewed in purpose after the talk in the VIP lounge last night.

He was done playing around whenever Ruby came up in conversation, or when he saw a trigger of memories with her.

It was time he got back, time he returned to her after all the reasons were presented to him as to why they should have stayed apart.

Well, that was done. Oscar’s angst over her ceased earlier at Now O’clock, his vigor renewed, his new goal in mind: Reunite with Ruby Rose.

Even if she wanted to be just friends, he didn’t care. That was all that mattered, hoping that they could be friends again.

He sat down where Blake was that night when they had their encounter regarding old times. Speaking in preparation for what was going to be a long debate.

“It’s been a while, Miss Rose.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s been a while, Oscar.” Ruby sluggishly rehearsed.

Ruby slept at least. Not well, considering that she had to explain how she deciphered the whole secret about Oscar being kept from her.

She finished brushing her hair at a more appropriate styling, the hot shower she took earlier to try and soothe the nerves helping flush out her bloodshot eyes from the breakdown last night.

With Weiss and Blake’s help, Ruby applied a good cover-up for her eye bags, her overall appearance as a 26-year-old woman needing some serious grooming, honestly.

To complicate things further, meeting your ex after so long, after leaving on such a heart crushing note tends to hit you like a sack of bricks. And it was clear as day what kind of mood the reaper was in.

The shower vapors gave Ruby some clarity as to what kind of meeting she was in for, and there was really no point in trying to run away from her demons.

Not when there was already a plan in place. Not when it came up at a point that she really couldn’t evade, Con festivities be damned.

Oscar wasn’t one to hold a grudge, and neither was she. But what did he expect out of it?

Was he expecting one of her speed-boosted tackle hugs? No. He probably was looking more to scold her for leaving the next day afterwards.

Even without Ozpin present whenever he got defensive about one of his mistakes, you did not wanna catch Oscar in a bad mood.

Was she expected to speak first? No. They would likely start out by saying hello, but then it would probably morph into him shouting about how selfish she’s been.

She probably deserved it, having dealt the killing blow to Salem but not being able to face the truth about how she wasn’t the most thoughtful about relationships of this nature.

What the hell did everyone expect out of her and Oscar? They were improvising when it came to dating for Light’s sake. Part of her suspects her friends do have a side bet wondering if they’ll get together.

Could anyone have sided with her in this discussion? No again, because they promised they wouldn’t interfere or side with either of the two. Just listen and make sure things didn’t escalate between them.

**What were you thinking?!** Asked Ruby’s conscious.

_I wasn’t._ She replied sorrowfully.

**Exactly.** It spoke. **Nobody’s saying you had to stick with him but look at how he got treated in you leaving.**

_How do you know?_ Ruby asked, eyebrow cocked.

**Because he would have smashed every Grimm and move all of Remnant in his path to be with you.** Admonished her conscious.

_And how was I supposed to know that at first?_ She argued. _I was trying to resume my new life as a Huntress after saving the world. I had my friends, but I don’t know what the heck I was doing wrong with Oscar!_

**Okay. Maybe it was just out of panic.** It said. **Let’s say you were both freaked out and just couldn’t carry on with it. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to end up as a fling after all? Point is, you now have the chance to unscrew this whole debacle here in the present.**

No arguments there, Ruby answered. It was time to head downstairs and face the music.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After getting dressed and arguing with her conscious for a good five minutes, Ruby and her friends finally went down to the lobby.

A late breakfast was eaten and her friends ended up sending her down to the lobby in order to sit down and chat with Oscar.

She sat down on a sofa, looking over to a nearby wall and a series of plants. On the left was the entrance to the Con floor, something to distract herself a little bit before getting to brass tacks.

Rusty, sharp and bloody tacks which felt like they wet straight for her heart. But tacks regardless.

Her Scroll vibrated as she opened it to see a text notification from Yang, opening it, she got a text that read: “In position?”

Ruby texted a thumbs up icon, to which Yang replied back: “He’s on his way. Sit tight.”

She sighed, resting her head on her fist as she waited, looking through fun memories of their dating. 

An ice cream parlor trip with Ren and Nora, an arcade jaunt with bowling on the side alongside Coco and Velvet, a walk on the beach with Blake and Sun.

Double dating was definitely a first for Ruby and Oscar. So, it was nice to have some encouragement from their friends.

There had to be no easy way that Oscar would let her off with this one, let alone stay quiet whenever they had time away from the group.

===========================

Deep into her train of thought, Ruby heard footsteps, a pair of boots, most likely.

This gave her a pretty good idea that it was him, but she didn’t open her eyes.

Although the pause in these footsteps probably indicated that yes, it was Oscar. And that they were ready to talk.

The pair of feet walked over, as the waist that connected to these pair of legs sat down, over at the couch behind the one that Ruby sat in.

The voice belonging to the pair of legs and the body connected to it finally spoke.

A boyish tone now fully matured with a country accent.

“Howdy, Ruby.” He spoke.

Ruby opened her eyes, noticing a young man facing the front entrance where he sat and recognizing the intertwining gear sigil on the back of his suit jacket.

She looked back to the vendor hall. It was her turn to speak.

“Hi, Oscar.” She said with an unusually lethargic tone.

This was strange considering that there was no eye contact to be made just yet. So, for now, they spoke covertly. Not the best way to meet up with your ex after so long.

“How has it been on the farm?” Ruby finally asked, trying to break the ice. “Is…Is Aunt Em doing well?”

Oscar cleared his throat.

“She’s doing fine, thanks. Farm is doing good, too. But I do miss the days when we could harvest most of the crops by hand.” He answered.

“We’re getting pretty good use out of the crazy tech, though. You wouldn’t believe how simple it is to clean out a chicken coop nowadays.” He then added.

Ruby paused, shocked at how quick he was getting to pleasantries. As she still expected him to rant about just how selfish she was being. But the conversation carried on.

“Well, I’m uh, doing well as a Huntress.” She spoke timidly. “Been acting as a substitute teacher and a TA at Beacon. Along with Pharos, Signal, uh…I’m still killing Grimm.” She attempted to answer. “Weiss and Blake have families now. Ren and Nora have got two great kids, Yang is…Well, she’s doing bounty hunting now. And…” she rambled on.

Again, she paused.

Truly there was no stranger time to be uncertain of topics with him than here and now in this lobby of a 5-star hotel that was occupied by a game convention.

Oscar had the line so they could covertly listen in case intervention was actually needed.

“Yeah. This is off to a swimmingly good start.” Weiss deadpanned; their voices thankfully muted on Yang’s Scroll so that Ruby wouldn’t hear her complaints.

“I don’t like it either, but now’s not the time to rush in.” Blake responded, looking over from the dining hall. “Just stay quiet and let’s listen.” She insisted, putting one of her wireless ear buds back in her Human left ear so that they could all hear their words.

===========================

After their initial poor attempts at catching up, Ruby and Oscar turned to face each other. With him being taken aback by how beautiful Ruby has gotten.

Her lengthier and slightly spiky hair, her taller and elegant figure creating a beautiful compliment to her journey into adulthood.

This only confirmed Oscar’s theory that she's just as lovely as when he first saw her many years ago.

Ruby was also shocked to see how much he had grown; His musculature hiding behind his business casual suit and buttoned shirt underneath, his face now in a more oval-like shape.

His rosy complexion in a more lightened manner to reflect his time spent indoors at a desk inevitably checking out invoices and whatever else a young suit like him works on.

Ruby had no patience for such boring activities. Her desire to fight and protect was stronger and only aided by her trigger finger that begged to put a .50 Caliber round into a Beowulf’s skull to gain some catharsis after this talk.

_Focus, Ruby. Control yourself girl._ She told herself. _You can go hunting once we get back to Vale. For now, let’s clear things up with him._

“Wow.” Oscar uttered. “I know this is probably a bad time to be saying it, but you look absolutely stunning.” He said with a sheepish smirk.

“Uh, thanks.” Ruby bashfully replied while turning her head to the left, fiddling with a lock of hair. “I tried to model myself after my mom when we all returned home."

"What about you?” She then asked. “Any particular inspiration for your current looks?” she added, hoping for a cool story.

Oscar darted his eyes left and right, trying not to make eye contact with WBYJNR at the side as he shook his head.

“Nope. I just tried to make myself look more professional.” He said earnestly.

“Not bad for a 23-year-old entrepreneur who started from nothing after fighting in a shadow war to save the world, don’t you think?” He joked.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it then looked down to the side. Clearly with the Goliath in the room swinging back around, it was time to bring that night up.

More specifically, the next day after and whatever the hell either of them were supposed to do next after Ruby left her goodbye note. Now just like a burn mark in the snow while the small patch melted from the fire.

Then there was this current moment with each separate old flame, the embers of her rocky departure and his broken heart still hovering over them. If they were to fan away before any future arguments could arise.

**There’s that word again.** Ruby’s conscious wisecracked at the mention of embers.

_Quiet, you._ She shot back.

“Listen, Oscar/Ruby. I need to be honest with you.” They both simultaneously spoke.

Over at the dining area, Blake’s ears shifted to whatever they would say next.

Yang adjusted her aviator sunglasses to prevent being seen eavesdropping on her sister and her ex.

Weiss merely sat up, flicking her shoulder-length braided ponytail to her right over her shoulder so as not to be recognized in public.

Jaune, Nora and Ren merely slumped in their chairs using their friends as hiding places so that Ruby wouldn’t notice them.

Then again, it was kind of hard to not recognize Yang’s ridiculously long golden hair and all the other traits that made them all noticeable.

Hopefully this didn’t make headlines.

“I’m sorry.” Ruby muttered.

“Pardon?” Oscar replied, taken aback by this.

“I said…I’m sorry.” She said out loud this time, looking back into Oscar’s eyes with shimmering remorse upon her silver eyes.

Oscar fell silent. His shock was quite the understatement.

He knew Ruby would never be cruel but when the original goal was to sit her down and talk about their fateful morning, his heart still deeply hurt from that day. Now things were more complicated. 

“Oscar.” Ruby began, doing her best to hold back tears. “I never meant to hurt you. I know we were doing well at that point, but I wasn’t thinking straight the next day. I overheard your conversation with Jaune, and Yang in the VIP lounge and I know what the problem is now. Both of us screwed up!” She exclaimed, her voice breaking, but still quiet enough so as not to make a scene in the lobby.

Her friends, however, heard every painful inflection from Oscar’s Scroll.

“Man.” Jaune said with a wince, knowing fireworks are going to fly now. “Damn it Ruby.”

As if they were holding their children, Nora and Ren exchanged a fearful look at this sight wishing they could hold their little warriors in comfort for just what was unfolding between their eyes.

Ren put his left arm around her and rubbed his cheek against hers for comfort, kissing his wife on said cheek for reassurance when in truth he was just as worried as her.

“Do we step in?” Ren asked, turning towards Weiss.

“Not yet.” She replied, holding a hand up. “Wait for his signal.” She explained. Her friends' fears being alleviated not even by a modicum.

“Please, Ruby. This isn't like you to just give up." Oscar begged, his heart breaking seeing his love breaking down.

"I know you've got a lot on your plate from the day you left, but we're putting this behind us, okay?” He said, shoulders slumping as his heart sank further at seeing his old flame's sorry state.

“But we- -” she tried to say. 

Oscar shushed her, looking around to make sure their discussion wasn't overheard by anyone.

When Ruby looked down at the marble floor, Oscar looked over to WBYJNR and held up three fingers.

The salute to a fallen warrior from the Great War that Oscar learned about in school back when he was a simple farm boy.

Weiss saw the signal, gave a three-fingered salute in return, and then looked back to her teammates.

“Okay, that's our cue.” Said Weiss, lifting herself up from her seat then gesturing her allies to follow. “Come on.” She said as they quietly walked over to their distraught friends from their seats.

===========================

Meanwhile, Ruby continued her hysterics. Oscar sitting quietly and simply listening to his ex vent.

Personally, he would rather have been giving her an embrace so she could physically have a shoulder to cry on.

But in his heart, he knew she was to blame for this heartbreak both are suffering.

_Not the time, nor the place._ Oscar told himself. _Let her talk._

“But…But, Oscar…You were so lonely after we beat Salem that I didn't want to leave you by yourself. The others, they- -They were so busy with recovery when I was one of the first ones to leave the medical bay at Beacon I had to come and find you, see how you were doing after Ozpin ascended.” Ruby confessed, sniffling with tears trickling down her cheeks.

“But my head was so up in the clouds regarding my own career as a Huntress that I never thought of you first!” She continued, burying her face in her hands as she muffled herself around the crowds. “I screwed up, Oscar! I was a bad friend, and girlfriend to you!”

Oscar blinked. Taking a deep breath and allowing Ruby to rave some more before resuming his side of the conversation.

“Ruby, I don't blame you for running off because, take it from the perspective of a suit like myself; you got to look after yourself first before any duties in your career.” He softly rebutted. His words were still betraying what his heart wanted to say.

“W-what?” The reaper replied with a sniffle.

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to realize how much that I had to see to my own issues first before becoming the head of SFI?” Oscar inquired. “Even before you left me alone the next day?”

“Um…It didn't occur to me.” Ruby predictably answered. “Why?”

“Hold it!” A male voice called, interrupting their trains of thought.

Both of them turned their heads to see Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora and Ren all walk over to their sitting area with Jaune leading the way.

The others appearing side by side with the knight in the middle in an almost cinematic fashion as they gave stern glances before they softened them towards Ruby and Oscar.

“Guys, stop!” Nora insisted, Yang butting her out of the way towards her sister's direction.

“Ruby, wait.” The blonde woman spoke. “Oscar called us here. I know we said we wouldn't intervene, but I think it's our turn to speak.”

Ruby blinked, but let her friends speak since there wasn't really anything else for her to add.

“What is it, sis?” Ruby tiredly asked as she as her shoulders slumped.

_Okay, I get it. I'm not a good listener sometimes._ The reaper snipped at her conscious.

**Oh, sure. Blame the disembodied voice in your head.** Her conscious snarked. **At least we have a point of contact with him now.** It told her, as if gesturing towards Oscar.

_Oh, go soak your head!_

**Maybe once we're in the hotel spa later getting another spiky haircut after the first trip to Atlas.**

_Ah, shut up. Now if you don't mind,_ Ruby said with an imaginary glare before focusing back on the present, _I’ve got an ex-boyfriend to amend with and check out._ She concluded with a silent ‘harrumph' as she resumed sitting through the intervention.

===========================

“Ruby, Oscar,” Blake began, eyes darting to the floor as she hid her hands in her jacket pockets, “we know you're both hurt by this whole ordeal.” She said, gesturing towards Yang to continue.

While Nora sat down and pulled Ruby in for an embrace. Brushing her orange hair at the side of her cheek as their chests met to calm her like she would with her kids.

“But we didn't know how bad it really affected her.” said Yang, folding her arms as she stood by Oscar. “Besides, you were so busy running SFI that we didn't think you could be reached and that you were too busy to respond.” The blonde bomber went on with a sigh. “So it's our fault, too.” She finished with Blake putting a hand on her shoulder as Yang shook her head.

“We all just dropped it because we assumed it would be easier that way so we could carry on with our post-Crisis missions. Live our lives, raise our families since we brushed it off as business per usual.” Ren spoke in favor of Jaune.

The knight wrapped an arm around his left elbow in embarrassment at his own inaction. While Ren wrapped his own arm around his brother from another mother.

Weiss spoke next, hanging her head in shame as the sight of seeing two of her friends torn up like this.

She was trying not to picture her mother, Willow, arguing with that monster, Jacques.

No. The end of these two's friendship was not going to dissuade her so easily.

“We're not just Ruby's friends.” The Dust magnate began. “We're her family. You can be part of our family too, Oscar. Just stop hiding. Please! We should have been there for you, too. And look where it's put you in the past six years!” Weiss ranted.

“I watched my mother fall into becoming a hermit because of my father being a control freak. We don't want that for you and Ruby. You both deserve better.” She finished, icy blue eyes filled with frustration and worry.

Weiss could have torn out parts of her snowy locks of hair if she wasn't in such a public area because it quite simply was pissing her off how this issue was dragging on.

If her words failed, she would be sure to hug Neptune and their son later for some catharsis.

Blake sighed after listening to her friend rant. Before stepping in between the two to finally cut the crap and break the ice.

“The takeaway we want both of you to get from this is that just because you hit a roadblock in your past relationship doesn't mean you can't be friends all of a sudden.” The Faunus explained.

“It's not too late to move on. So, what'll it be?” Blake asked, stepping back to let them give the final answer.

After five minutes of tense silence, Ruby looked over at Oscar again, taking a deep breath before helping him up with a solid stare from her Grimm-slaying eyes.

There seemed to be no visible features in the dull stare on her part except for her irises which still shone like a mirror in daylight.

And then, before Oscar could ask if they could still be friends…

She yanked him in for a hug, burying her face in his fit chest before resting her head upon his left shoulder. The look of pain on her face was still visible.

“Before anything else, Oscar. Let's put this past us and try to be friends again.” She said before he could open his mouth.

The farmer was taken aback as he blinked, blinked again before embracing her back.

His look of uncertainty now replaced with joy, her face shifting into that very emotion as well.

“Aww shucks.” He said. “I was hoping for this all along.”

The others smiled. Weiss and Blake breathing a sigh of relief at the tension finally passing by.

Ren and Jaune exchanged a brotherly look of joy while Yang stood and watched in between the two Huntsmen, so proud of her little sister for coming back around.

And then there’s Nora.

Who somehow hid a whole box of tissues in her skirt pocket (don't ask) as she sobbed hysterically with joy at the cute farm boy reconciling with her just as cute leader in their group of friends.

Nora bawled. Her eyes spewed gushers of saline as she blew into the tissue and dried her eyes at the reunion.

Just like that, her mood whiplashed back to being as peppy as a Boarbatusk in hot mud.

“Hey, gang.” Nora spoke without her voice breaking. “You know what this calls for?” The ginger asked before pointing her finger dramatically at the vendor hall.

“CON STUFF!” She excitedly shouted as Yang butted in yet again.

“Hell yeah! Enough with the sappy shit.” The older sister declared; robotic fist raised upwards. “Let's get back to having fun, shall we?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 4 of Table CONQuest was back to normal. 

They got to check out more of _Fortresses & Firehawks,_ brought cool merchandise for home, Ruby got her new schedule with _Slipstream Software's_ ad agency.

Weiss got to practice a little for the first time at _Maidens: The Reckoning_ once there were no more issues with Oscar to speak of.

The food court was finally finished, and they all had a hearty pancake platter at lunch. Nora surprisingly saving most of it for them, ever since she buckled down on her post-pregnancy diet.

Yang got invited to an _F&F_ campaign by Team ABRN over social media, which she gladly accepted with the selfie of her giving a prosthetic peace sign, stuck-out tongue and a wink saying…

**You helped save our asses at Beacon, so I'll kick all four of yours as a token of thnx! -YXL**

**K but I get Fortress Master this time -Reese**

**Reese u were Fortress Master last time and you demanded to write our character sheets >:( -Arslan**

While ABRN debated the duties of a Fortress Master and how it was no laughing matter, Ruby was to begin rehearsing for _Pinnacle Karate Knights 5’s_ ad campaign soon as she got back on the mainland and recovered from the jet lag back in Vale.

Blake took a selfie of the _Maidens_ card packs for sale in the vendor booth and sent it to Sun.

He joyfully presented it to little Alex saying how he couldn't wait to teach her how to play it sometime. Which their daughter cheered at, both fists held up as she hopped excitedly at the idea.

Jaune took photos of _F&F_ 6th Edition which his dad, Oliver, shared with his family. Jaune's sisters reacted in mixed responses of amusement, indifference or challenge at their brother's album.

Ren and Nora sent a quick video message to The Fen Lotus which Kwan made sure to pass on to their kiddos regarding the Gold collection they brought for _Absurd Competition_ and _Cooking Papa._

“Hello, my little muffins!” Nora beamed. “Your father and I brought some games for home and we're coming back on Friday. What do you say we fire up the oven and bake some pizza, then play some games together?” She suggested, her grin visible from space.

“We'll give you a hand with homework and close the restaurant for the weekend for some family time.” Said Ren. “Be back soon, kids. We love you.” He finished with a wave of his hand.

“Take care, guys.” Nora said as she blew a kiss to her children. “Bye!”

Meanwhile, Ruby and Oscar gave the Poker machines a spin.

Oscar gained the upper hand in winnings with his economic know-how. Which Ruby made a note of to get back at him for that in a game of physical Poker later...

Hell of a first year.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The last day of the inaugural year for Table CONQuest was reaching it's evening phase.

Teams RWBY, JNR, and their pal Oscar gathered in a quiet spot of the vendor hall, taking the time to happily reflect on their activities once the post-breakup drama was resolved.

They all just sat at the abandoned stage, taking in the moment of their experience. It wasn't easy at first, but it all worked out in the end…

…

Or did it?!

Kidding. It totally did.

Ruby and Oscar finally exchanged glances. Their past tensions finally washed away as Ruby spoke up.

“I don't think I want this Con to end.” She admitted with a smile.

“You and me both.” Oscar drawled; his more apparent rural accent’s charm was not being lost on Ruby as he smiled back. “Here I was, being a worrywart about our past fling that I just had to find the rest of y'all again.”

He looked to the side to see WBYJNR all give him smiles of approval.

Yang stood out by giving him the peace sign with her robotic arm while Nora winked at him.

Ren merely gave him a nod of approval while Jaune saluted Oscar with placing his right hand across his chest.

“It’s funny.” He said. “Here I assumed that headin' back to the farm with my Aunt and our newfound staff would help me find solace, but I forgot the folks I cherished.” He explained, looking back to Ruby.

“Well, it's a good thing you found us.” She said, sheepishly grabbing her left arm.

“Yeah.” He said quietly, mirroring her movements.

As they finished taking in the moment about to head to their penthouses, Oscar noticed a small stage over on the far right across from the _Fortresses & Firehawks_ animated series table.

He squinted and noticed what the marquee said in bold letters with a brown background and green neon lighting.

**Howdy, partner! Ya got what it takes to become the next Compost King?** An advertising poster said in bold font.

And then Oscar got an idea. A crazy one to be sure, but it would bBe something for the record books for his comrades. y the Light he was going to seize it.

“Guys.” He spoke to the other seven, as they paused from heading to the food court and looked over to him curiously.

“What's up?” Jaune asked.

“Anybody know anything about this Compost King competition?” He asked, pointing to the stage with a rotating hologram of the board game just next to the marquee.

Weiss stepped forward, putting her hand up to her chin as she squinted towards the mini stage.

“Well, from what I know on the Con website's event list, there's a contest held to basically determine who will be the next mascot for the cover of _Compost King._” She said. “Why? Have you signed up?”

The suit shook his head.

“Nope. I didn't think it was important.” He answered. Looking to the side where the contest was before looking back. “Unless…” He said, a smirk slowly forming.

Oscar Pine had an idea.

A wonderful, awful idea.

“What are you planning?” Jaune asked with concern.

“Yeah, this isn't like making a crash landing with the Manta in Argus, right?” Ruby asked next.

Oscar said nothing as he gave a sinister chuckle with a devilish smirk.

“Pull out your Scrolls, then hit record on your cameras.” He said, unable to stop grinning.

“What?!” They all asked to varying degrees.

“Go ahead. Pull out your Scrolls.” He insisted. “Because this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

His friends did as they were told and hit the record button. All of them beeping with said action as the recording began.

“So, this is…Something.” Said Yang. “We don't even know why yet, right guys?” She said as she turned the view to them, who all shook their heads or shrugged as she turned back.

“What are you gonna do?” Nora asked.

“Ladies and gentlemen, y'all are about to see how clout is done after being cooped up in an office for so long.” He said before walking up to the stage.

“Full disclosure: I, Oscar Pine, do not reflect the opinions and views of my staff at Southwest Farms Incorporated with this stunt.” He stated before waltzing up to the stage, ignoring Con security and panel judges.

Oscar ignored the protests of contestants while he gestured his friends to come closer with their Scroll feeds…

_Swoosh!_

He opened his shirt, revealing his finely toned muscles from working on the farm so long and giving an evil smile at the crowd. Who all appropriately gasped at this action before boasting the following.

“Kneel before the Compost King!” 

Nora's jaw dropped.

Ren turned pale.

Weiss, Jaune and Blake covered their mouths.

While Yang was shocked at how much of a hunk that he grew into in such a window of time. Those eight years certainly were kind to him in terms of looks.

“Hamina-hamina-hamina, hoo-whee~!” Nora exclaimed while Yang followed suit with her fellow bruiser.

_Okay, whoa! That's one badass washboard on farm boy- -er, man!_ Yang thought. _No wonder Ruby fell for him!_

The crowd bowed down to Oscar as he insisted them, some kneeling before him, even with Ren following suit by laying on the floor stomach-first. His masculinity feeling a wee bit intimidated by his.

Ruby, however…

The reaper let out a surprised squeak at the sight of the now bare-chested ex that stood before them. 

Her mouth was agape, her cape merely blowing off in the wind from the heated AC as she stood next to her sister. Ignoring the kneeling crowd before her and not even paying attention to the judges.

“Uh, ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a surprise vote by unanimous decision.” The host spoke into the microphone.

The judges merely pointed to Oscar who still stood like a God on top of Mountain Glenn's highest peak.

The cameras snapped and flashed while Ruby's face flushed at Oscar striking new poses, continuing to highlight his pumped iron while he received a medal and the other contestants left in a huff.

There was only one thought that crossed Ruby's mind.

_Oh no, he's hot!_

Weiss took notice of this and waved a hand in front of Ruby's face. As she pulled her hand back, she noticed her nose trickling with blood.

Weiss recoiled from this sight and took out a handkerchief with the SDC snowflake emblazoned onto it, blotting her nostrils as it took Jaune to snap her out of it.

“Ruby?” Jaune spoke. “Say something.” He said, hoping she didn’t shut down.

The red Huntress shook her head as she felt sweat race down her face from the sight while she looked to her comrades in shock. Then looked to the end of the hall before pushing Stop on her camera.

“Excuse me, guys, I need to use the restroom!” She said as she dashed off in a missile of rose petals over to the ladies' room.

The others' eyes widened at what they deciphered what would happen next as Weiss drew her Scroll.

“Oh dear.” She said, eyes widening. “Jaune, get your Semblance ready. I'll call Klein to help clean up over here. You guys keep Oscar talking with the press.” She ordered. “Alright, move!”

And so, Ruby went to work in the restroom so hard that her Aura shattered. Which Jaune had to repair. She went home with a limp which delayed her work on Slipstream's ads. But at least she and Oscar could be friends again.

This would certainly be a brand-new adventure game for her and hopefully Oscar as well. 

A Game of Embers.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a wrap! Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all enjoyed my first AU story. 
> 
> As always your feedback is appreciated. And would be a great help to learn how I can improve, and how I can move forward with my writing.
> 
> There's more to come. And although Bloodlines may not be getting many views now, I can assure you that we're not done. 
> 
> Thank you to Lost-One-60 for being a real champ in editing any mistakes and putting in corrections for me to use in between his Uni classes. 
> 
> Thank you to psb123 for helping me through a rough spot in my writing hobby and helping me get some much-needed motivation.
> 
> Thank you to Jack_Simpson for discussing shipping with me, which has led to some interesting topics and discussions relating to his harem fic, RWBY: A Knight to Remember. 
> 
> Which I have partially helped co-author: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17115233/chapters/40251923
> 
> A special thanks to the folks over in the Rosegarden Discord server. I don't ship RG, but this was fun to write. 
> 
> It's also not quite as relevant as the main plot featuring my ship kids. But I loved this idea so much that I just had to make this the first fic. 
> 
> So you could consider it a side story rather than a prequel. As for the kids you'll meet, they'll be here soon.
> 
> Y'all take care now.
> 
> -Joe Jury


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